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C0FHHGHT DEPOSm 



KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES 


Studies in the development of the kingdom of God, 
for use consecutively or as independent units. 


The Religion of Israel 

Twenty-six lessons. 


By John Bayne Ascham 


The Religion of Judah 

Twenty-six lessons. 


By John Bayne Ascham 


The Life of Jesus 

Twenty-six lessons. 


By Harris Franklin Rail 


The Teachings of Jesus 

Twenty-six lessons. 


By Harris Franklin Rail 


The Kingdom of God Since the Time of Christ 

In preparation. By John Bayne Ascham 



KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES 

f 

The Religion of Judah 



BY 

JOHN BAYNE ASCHAM 




THE ABINGDON PRESS 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



T3M I us 

■at 



Copyright, 1920, by 
JOHN BAYNE ASCHAM 



The Bible text used in this book, except that appearing in italic, is taken from 
the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thoxnaa 
Nelson & Sons, and is used by permission. 



AUG -2 i920 
©CI.A597126 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Story op Judah From Rehoboam to Ahaz 7 

II. The Early Prophecies op Isaiah 17 

III. Isaiah and the Jud2ean Crisis op 735 b. c 27 

IV. Isaiah and the Assyrian Invasion 36 

V. Isaiah and the Messianic Hope 48 

VI. The Message op Micah 59 

VII. The Deuteronomic Reform 69 

VIII. Deuteronomic Provisions for Worship 79 

IX. Deuteronomic Provisions for Social Welfare . . 90 

X. Jeremiah: Prophet op Judah's Decline 100 

XI. Jeremiah: Prophet op Personal Religion 109 

XII. Ezeeiel: Watchman Unto the House of Israel. . 119 

XIII. In the Waejs op the Exiles 129 

XIV. Two Nameless Kingdom Builders 140 

XV. Tasks and Hopes op the Returning Exiles 152 

XVI. From Zechariah to Nehemiah 163 

XVII. Nehemiah: Builder and Reformer 174 

XVIII. The Development of Jewish Law 185 

XIX. Job: A Study in Jewish Piety 197 

XX. Jewish Life in the Persian Period 209 

XXI. The Jewish Sage 220 

XXII. The Maccabean Crisis 231 

XXIII. Jewish Religious Parties 242 

XXIV. The Jewish Messianic Hope 256 

XXV. The Jewish Scriptures 270 

XXVI. The Developing Kingdom of God 281 

Index 293 



CHAPTER I 

THE STORY OF JUDAH FROM REHOBOAM TO 

AHAZ 

United Israel came to its fullness of national spirit and 
achievement in the reign of Solomon, during the middle 
of the tenth century B. C. The death of Solomon pre- 
cipitated the revolt of the northern portion of the state. 
Israel, as the northern kingdom is known, pursued a tragic 
career until the nation perished in the destruction of 
Samaria in 722 B. C. The southern part of Solomon's 
kingdom, the inhabitants of the territory lying almost 
wholly south of Jerusalem, remained loyal to his son. For 
almost two centuries after the disruption of the kingdom 
that had been established by Saul, David, and Solomon, the 
southern state, known as Judah, moved on uneventfully 
until it too came into collision with Assyria. During this 
period religious conditions for the most part were the same 
in Judah as in Israel. 

The Political History 

Two Centuries of Kings: 937-735 B. C. — (a) Behoboam, 
937-917. — In addition to the war with Israel (1 Kings 14. 
30) the chief event of this king's reign is narrated in 1 
Kings 14. 25-28. For the treasures of the Temple see 
7. 51. To despoil the Temple to pay tribute or to pur- 
chase an alliance was not an infrequent resort of Judah's 
kings. See in 2 Chronicles 11. 5-12 the list of cities forti- 
fied by Rehoboam. 

(b) Abijah, son of Rehoboam, 920-917. — War continued 
between him and Jeroboam. No details of his reign are 
given by the editor of Kings. A typical instance of the 
historical methods of the chronicler is 2 Chronicles 13. 

(c) Asa, son of Abijah, 917-876. — Read 1 Kings 15. 
16-22. Since Ramah was only a few miles from Jerusa- 
lem, the desperate strait of Asa is easily understood. Read 

7 



8 THE EELIGION OP JUDAH 

2 Chronicles 16. 7-10 for the prophetic attitude toward 
Asa's policy. This is the second inroad upon the Temple's 
treasures. Note the first hint of the efforts of Judah's 
kings to reform the cultus (1 Kings 15. 12, 13). 

(d) Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, 876-851, — Jehoshaphat 
ended the long feud between Judah and Israel by a mar- 
riage alliance with the house of Ahab (2 Kings 8. 18). 
One of the first issues of this alliance was a campaign 
against Damascus to recover Israelitish territory in Gilead. 
See 1 Kings 22. 1-37 for the disastrous results. The 
chronicler's parallel is found in 2 Chronicles 18. 1 to 19. 
3. What other acts are ascribed to him in 1 Kings 22. 
46-49 ? 

(e) Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, 851-81+8. — Eead 2 
Kings 8. 16-18 for his marriage and 8. 20-22 for his 
disastrous campaign against Edom. The passage 2 Chron- 
icles 21. 2-4 is probably a bit of authentic history that the 
writer of Kings took no pains to record. 

(/) Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, or Joram, 81+8-81+2. — He 
reigned a little less than a year. There is little to record 
about him. He went to Samaria to visit Jehoram, his 
brother-in-law, the king of Israel, who was ill (2 Kings 
8. 29), and, being there at the time of Jehu's revolution, 
was slain (9.27,28). 

(g) Athaliah, daughter of Ahab of Israel and mother 
of Ahaziah, 81+2-886.—Re&& 2 Kings 11. 1-3 for Athaliah's 
seizure of the throne. Athaliah had carried into Jerusalem 
the Tyrian Baalism which her mother Jezebel had im- 
ported into Israel (11. 18). What measures did she take 
to secure herself on the throne ? Jehu had already rooted 
out the foreign Baalism in Israel. How is Athaliah's 
prolonged success accounted for? Bead 2 Kings 11. 4-20 
for the revolt under Jehoiada and the enthronement of 
Joash. 2 Chronicles 22. 11 states that Jehoiada was the 
priest of the Temple and the husband of Jehoshabeath, the 
aunt of Joash, whose life she saved. 

(h) Joash, or Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, 886-796. — Eead 
2 Kings 12. 4-16 for the king's repair of the Temple. Up 
to this time the expense of the upkeep of the Temple was 



FROM REHOBOAM TO AHAZ 9 

borne by the king. Now the expense is to be borne by the 
people. At first Joash decreed that two sources of priestly 
revenue should be expended by the priests for repairs — 
namely: Temple dues, or taxes, imposed by the priests for 
this purpose, and free-will offerings. For several years the 
priests collected this money but failed to expend it as di- 
rected. Then the chest was introduced, and the expendi- 
ture of the money placed in the hands of the royal secre- 
tary and the chief priest. The second plan worked 
successfully and continued in force probably until the 
destruction of the Temple. Read 2 Kings 12. 17, 18 for 
the Syrian aggression and the tribute of Joash. This is 
the third recorded despoliation of the Temple to pay tribute 
or to bribe an ally. It is stated in 2 Chronicles 24. 17-22 
that the chief priest, Zechariah, was stoned by royal order, 
and that the king's assassination was in revenge for the 
priest's death. 

(i) Amaziah, son of Joash, 796-782. — Read 2 Kings 

14. 1-7. After an introduction in the usual Deuteronomic 
style note the two incidents taken from the older historical 
records — namely, the execution of the murderers of Joash 
and Amaziah's victory over the Edomites. The first of 
these is noteworthy. Observe the statement "the children 
of the murderers he put not to death." What was the 
older practice? See Joshua 7. 24; 2 Kings 9. 26. This 
is a distinct advance in jurisprudence. Later the practice 
of limiting guilt to the actual transgressor was embodied 
in the Deuteronomic Code (see Deuteronomy 24. 16). Em- 
boldened by his success over Edom, Amaziah dared Israel 
to battle. The challenge and the disastrous results are 
told in 2 Kings 14. 8-14. Again the Temple was despoiled. 
Undoubtedly Amaziah's folly with regard to Israel occa- 
sioned the insurrection that ended in his death (14. 19, 20) . 

(/) Azariah (Uzziah), son of Amaziah, 782-740. — His 
son Jotham was regent from 751 until his father's death, 
when he assumed the throne. The editor of Kings gives 
only two events of Uzziah's long reign: 2 Kings 14. 22; 

15. 5. The longer account in 2 Chronicles 26. 6-15 throws 
additional light upon the military activities and commer- 



10 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

cial prosperity of Judah under the rule of Uzziah. It is 
quite probable that Isaiah 2. 6-21, with its suggestions of 
trade and wealth, describes conditions in the closing years 
of Uzziah's reign. Putting all these references together, 
what may be inferred concerning the political and social 
conditions in Judah in the days of Amos, Hosea, and 
Isaiah ? 

(k) Jotham, son of Azariah, regent 751-7 J/-0; king 71*0- 
785. — The occasion for the regency is explained in 2 Kings 
15. 5. A rare prophetic summary of his reign, 15. 32-38, 
states that "he built the upper gate of the house of 
Jehovah." As the Temple came more and more to be the 
sanctuary of Judah, the need of the new approaches be- 
came pressing. According to 2 Kings 15. 37 the Syrian 
invasion was threatening at the time of his death. A few 
other details are added in 2 Chronicles 27. 3-6. 

Summary of Political History. — The two centuries of 
Judah's history from the death of Solomon to the Assyrian 
period were less eventful than Israel's stormy career. For 
the first one hundred years there was constant friction 
between the two kingdoms. This open antagonism was 
ended by the marriage alliance arranged by Jehoshaphat 
and Ahab. During the second century Israel's position 
between Judah and Damascus imposed upon her the brunt 
of Syria's aggressions. Protected by the northern king- 
dom's successes and misfortunes, Judah was free to ac- 
quire that prosperity and sense of security which 
characterized the southern state under Uzziah and Ahaz. 
Judah differs from Israel in its loyalty to the Davidic 
dynasty. With the exception of the half dozen years of 
Athaliah's usurpation the throne descended regularly from 
father to son during nearly the whole of Judah's history. 
Undoubtedly this loyalty to David's house was augmented 
by the attraction of the Temple; and the stability of the 
throne tended to transform gradually the royal sanctuary 
into the nation's one legitimate place of worship. 

The Keligious Life 
The Religious Influence of Solomon.— The reigns of 



FROM EEHOBOAM TO AHAZ 11 

David and Solomon established in the thought of the 
Hebrew people Jehovah as the national Deity. In his 
name successful wars of conquest had been waged. All the 
chief sanctuaries were his. In remote districts some local 
Canaanitish Baal might still be honored. But in general 
Jehovah reigned supreme in the religious thought and 
practice of the Hebrew people. Other nations had their 
deities, and the reality of these gods was conceded by the 
prevalent thought of Israel in this period. The primitive 
worship of Jehovah, the worship of the wilderness, is 
largely a matter of conjecture. It involved animal sacri- 
fice, perhaps at stated periods but certainly at times of 
confusion and crisis. The sacred places, where sacrifices 
might be offered, were few and unadorned. This primitive 
worship was very similar to the religious beliefs and prac- 
tices of the Bedouin of to-day. 

Upon entrance into Canaan this primitive worship was 
greatly modified by the religious life of the Canaanites. 
The religion of the nomad gave place to the religion of 
the settled agriculturist. The common worship became 
largely a borrowing from the Canaanites. The three great 
annual festivals (Exodus 23. 14-17) entered into the wor- 
ship of Jehovah from the customs of the Canaanites. The 
sanctuaries of the Hebrews in Palestine had been sacred 
places long before their settlement in the land. The 
mazzebah, or stone column, and the asherah, or wooden 
pillar — essentials at a Canaanitish altar — became familiar 
elements in the sacrificial feasts of the Hebrews. 

In addition to the unchallenged, unspiritual forms of 
worship Solomon introduced the altars and the priests of 
foreign deities. As a result of his treaties with surround- 
ing nations women of the royal families of these nations 
were admitted to his harem. With these wives, in the 
manner of our modern ambassadorial privileges, came the 
religious rites of their respective peoples. Upon the 
Mount of Olives, Solomon set up a sanctuary of Astarte, 
the widely worshiped Semitic goddess of fertility and love ; 
Milcom, the national god of the Ammonites ; and Chemosh, 
the chief Moabite deity (1 Kings 11. 6-8). The editor 



12 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

of the book of Kings does not give the names of other 
foreign deities worshiped at Jerusalem but states (11. 8) 
that Solomon's many marriages were the occasion of many 
diverse forms of worship. 

These women of foreign birth, representing trade rela- 
tions with their homeland, naturally would not be the only 
worshipers at these shrines on the Mount of Olives. Nor 
would these sanctuaries, at which women of royal blood 
worshiped, be inconspicuous and meanly adorned. The 
worship conducted at these altars not only would tend to 
make the Hebrew tolerant of foreign rites but also would 
attract the natives of Jerusalem to participate in the 
foreign rites. The worship of Astarte in particular would 
be demoralizing. Some of these sanctuaries were in ex- 
istence until the reforms inaugurated by Josiah swept them 
away. That they should have continued for a period of 
more than three hundred years indicates that Hebrews 
were drawn into the worship carried on at these shrines, 
and that Judah was not as alert as Israel to invasions of 
the rights of Jehovah. 

Tyrian Baalism. — The policy inaugurated by Solomon 
was followed by other princes. Jehoram married Athaliah, 
the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, sovereigns of Israel. 
As her mother had done in Samaria, she introduced Tyrian 
Baalism into Jerusalem. A temple was erected for the 
worship of the Phoenician national deity, probably on the 
Mount of Olives; a priest was installed; and numerous 
altars and images were erected (2 Kings 11. 18). This 
worship continued uninterruptedly for several years. In 
Jerusalem this worship supplanted for the court, at least 
during the six years of Athaliah's reign, the worship of 
Jehovah as the official religion of the state. That Atha- 
liah, a princess of Israel, should bring Tyrian Baalism 
into Jerusalem as the official religion of Israel — her mar- 
riage with the king of Judah would warrant her in intro- 
ducing only the religion of her native state — indicates both 
the resoluteness of her Phoenician spirit bequeathed to her 
by her mother, Jezebel, and also the tolerance of foreign 
religions Solomon's example had introduced into Judah. 



FROM REHOBOAM TO AHAZ 13 

Efforts at Reform. — There are two accounts of reform 
during this period which should be noted. Read 1 Kings 
15. 12, 13. The sodomites, or sanctuary prostitutes, 
were no doubt attached to the shrine built by Solomon 
to Astarte. The abominable image made by the queen 
mother was probably a phallic emblem. The zeal of 
Asa indicates a beginning of moral revolt against the 
Canaanitish-Jehovah worship which was to eventuate later 
in an ethical upheaval of the ancient cultus. That Asa 
did not wholly succeed is stated by 1 Kings 22. 46, and 
Jehoshaphat, who stood for Tyrian Baalism, has something 
to his credit. 

The Temple Built by Solomon. — The political history 
offers glimpses of the growing importance of the Temple. 
Built by Solomon as a royal sanctuary, in the course of 
time it tended toward a sanctuary for the people. The 
reference 2 Kings 11. 14 indicates that by the time of 
Athaliah the Temple had become much more than the 
king's private chapel. The repairs to the Temple were 
paid for by popular tax and the free-will offerings of the 
people. The splendor of the Temple overshadowed the 
ancient shrines of Judah and prepared the people for the 
Deuteronomic reform in which worship was centralized at 
Jerusalem. 

Priest and Prophet. — During these two centuries there 
is a marked difference in the character of the religious 
leadership of Israel and Judah. In Israel's records there 
appear the schools of the prophets, who in many in- 
stances influenced the political history of the kingdom. 
Shemaiah, Micaiah, Elijah, and Elisha are notable persons 
in their state. Kings were compelled to reckon with them ; 
the people turned to them in their extremity. The situa- 
tion in Judah during the same period is quite contrary. 
In Jerusalem the priest is the leading religious person of 
the state. He is the custodian and the jealous enthusiast 
for the dignity of Jehovah. He feels the affront and the 
danger of Tyrian Baalism and he organizes the revolu- 
tion that sweeps Athaliah from the throne and her foreign 
worship from Jerusalem. This difference of religious 



14 THE KELIGION OP JUDAH 

leadership corresponds with a difference in the political 
situation of the two kingdoms. A large factor in the re- 
volt of the northern tribes had been the antagonism of the 
democratic Hebrews to the autocratic economic methods 
of Solomon. The prophets arose out of the common life. 
They voiced the democracy of the people. Consequently, 
their prominence and influence were assured by the estab- 
lishment of the northern kingdom. The prophets were 
also, from the days of Saul, jealous enthusiasts for Je- 
hovah. Consequently, Ahab's alliance with Phoenicia 
quickened the prophetic activity in Israel. The political 
isolation of Judah partly accounts for the late appearance 
of prophetic activity in Jerusalem. Then, too, the Temple 
was the outstanding religious institution in Judah. It 
was the royal sanctuary. Its priest was an important per- 
sonage. The worship was conducted in elaborate man- 
ner. The Temple priests naturally became the guardians 
of the national worship. They united within themselves 
the spirit of Israel's prophets and the routine of Israel's 
priests at the royal sanctuaries. It was not until Judah 
was compelled to face the great empires of the Nile and 
Euphrates that great prophets arose in Jerusalem. 

Observations 

The Choice of Historical Material. — Judah's annals for 
two centuries are brief. As long as history is a record of 
wars, the narratives of a peaceful people must be concise. 
These two hundred years were not a brilliant period of 
Hebrew life ; they were a period of spiritual inertia. The 
richness of a civilization is measured by the expansion 
of its spiritual vision. Yet during these centuries there 
was some trailing toward the dawn of ethical religion. 
The earliest Hebrew laws were codified by Judah's priests 
within this period. The state's faithfulness to David's 
dynasty manifests a sense of moral order. Amos, who 
began the great prophetic experience of religion, was a 
citizen of Judah. If the historians of Judah had been 
trained to observe and appreciate the common facts of 
daily life, they might have wonderfully illumined for U8 



FROM REHOBOAM TO AHAZ 15 

the ethical growth of Hebrew life, for Amos and Isaiah 
did not spring up in Judah with no relatedness to moral 
ideas. There must have arisen in many minds doubts and 
questionings concerning the ritual of worship. History 
is not a record of the growth alone. True history investi- 
gates and relates the life of the people. It is imperative 
that all who seek to record the life of our times must see 
and understand the life of the humble as well as the 
achievements of the great. 

Keligion and the State. — Note the concern of the 
Hebrew states for religion. State religion is usually un- 
spiritual religion. State religion has commonly been 
autocratic and intolerant. To preserve freedom of con- 
science there has seemed an increasing necessity in modern 
centuries to divorce church and state. This separation 
has tended to create the impression that the state need 
not concern itself with religion. It is said that it is not a 
matter of public concern what attitude toward religion is 
assumed by state officials. It is forgotten that the state is a 
social institution, that it is a community of human beings. 
It is disastrous for the individual and the community to 
consider that any function of mankind may be carried 
through with the neglect of religion. It is an irreparable 
social loss for the state to maintain an educational system 
that makes no provision for formal religious discipline. Is 
it not possible for the state in some manner to concern it- 
self with religion, that the citizens may be constantly as- 
sured that public and individual welfare is grounded in 
loyalty to the will of God? 

Themes fob Class Discussion 

1. Why did the Temple at Jerusalem have so little signifi- 
cance for the prophets of Israel? 

2. Where did Elijah in his extremity go to commune with 
Jehovah? (1 Kings 19. 8.) 

3. Why is there no reference to the ark during these two 
centuries? Where was this ancient sanctity during this 
period? (1 Kings 6. 19.) 

4. How is the priestly leadership of religion in Judah to 
be explained? 



16 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

5. What change took place in the use of the Temple? What 
was the cause of the arrangements? 

6. Why was the political life of Judah so uneventful dur- 
ing these two centuries? 

7. Why was Judah so tolerant of Tyrian Baalism? 

8. What forms of worship were observed during the period 
under review? 

9. To what extent does the quiet political life of Judah 
suggest a fair amount of social justice within the state? 

10. In what ways to-day could the state assume the respon- 
sibility of inculcating the religious life among its citizens? 

References fob Additional Reading 

Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 184-6, 197, 203-6. 
Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, pages 83-131. 
History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, para- 
graphs 269-78, 295-300. 
Biblical Geography and History, Kent, pages 182-4. 



CHAPTER II 

THE EARLY PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH 

The previous chapter traced the political history of 
Judah from the death of Solomon, 937 B. C, to the reign 
of Ahaz, which began in 735 B. C. This was a period 
unmarked by unique events. Judah was sheltered from 
the world by the political sturdiness of the northern king- 
dom. With the Syro-Ephraimitic War, however, Judah 
entered into world politics. The early prophecies of Isaiah, 
considered in this chapter, belong to the reign of Jotham, 
740-735 B. C, and indicate the internal conditions of the 
state that led Ahaz on to his fateful policy of alliance with 
Assyria. 

The Call of Isaiah 

The Realization of a Divine Purpose. — Great religious 
careers frequently are precipitated by a crisis. In every 
case they are begotten and sustained by the individual 
man or woman becoming aware of some purpose of God. 
It is the recognition that God has something for him to 
do which enables a man to adventure in his name. 

Study Isaiah 6. 1-12. This narrative was composed a 
few years after the beginning of Isaiah's ministry. His 
call to the prophetic office was in 740 B. C, and this 
account of that experience which changed the world for 
him was circulated among his associates probably in 735. 
The publication served to inform his disciples concerning 
the influences that shaped his life, his fundamental con- 
victions, and the inevitable obstacles that beset the mes- 
senger of lofty spiritual conceptions in a crass age. 

Isaiah's career exhibits two disunited features of earlier 
prophecy. Like Elijah and Elisha he exercises consider- 
able political influence; and like Amos and Hosea he 
demands an ethical religion. He is the first of the 

17 



18 THE KELIGIOJST OF JUDAH 

world's statesmen whose political horizon is profoundly 
both ethical and religious. He is the forerunner of Savon- 
arola, Luther, Calvin, and Knox. He is also the first 
Hebrew thinker to formulate a Messianic hope and to de- 
liver a Messianic message. Later chapters will expand 
this statement. Isaiah therefore becomes a figure of sur- 
passing interest not only in Jewish life but also in the 
history of the world. 

The Convictions Embodied in His Call. — An analysis 
of this experience of Isaiah indicates that four distinct but 
related ideas were coming to harvest in his mind — namely : 
(1) Jewish life is moving in the wrong direction; it has 
in it the seeds of social dissolution ; it is cursed by ambi- 
tion, greed, sensuality, and disloyalty to Jehovah. (2) 
The nation's God is nothing less than a righteous God, 
who ever seeks righteousness among his people. (3) Je- 
hovah needs messengers — men who will face the careless 
nation and preach righteousness. (4) Eighteousness is 
better than national existence. 

With these ideas running in his mind Isaiah made his 
way into the Temple at Jerusalem. While he worshiped, 
the Temple before him faded, and a heavenly one took its 
place. In glorious and awful surroundings the ideas that 
were forming in his mind were congealed into convic- 
tions. Jehovah, manifesting himself to Isaiah in this 
striking vision, confirmed his meditations. Henceforth 
Isaiah became the active messenger of the Holy One to 
sinful Israel. 

At the beginning of his ministry Isaiah evidently ex- 
pected the destruction of Judah. The prophets preceding 
Amos taught the inviolability of the Hebrew states. Amos 
and Hosea, in the interest of ethical religion, preached 
their destruction or, at least, only faintly imaged a re- 
stored people. Isaiah, likewise, in his earliest years saw 
no spirit of repentance in Judah and believed that Jeho- 
vah's judgment would end in desolate cities and a wasted 
countryside. But later his faith became stronger. He 
became the first to unite a stern denunciation of the sins 
of Israel and Judah with the clear expectation that the 



THE EARLY PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH 19 

Judaean state at least should outride the storms of chas- 
tisement and be transformed into a kingdom in which 
Jehovah's will, expressed in righteousness, would be fully 
done. 

The Essential Message of Isaiah 

Conventional Holiness. — In few particulars does the 
history of religion show more striking instances of develop- 
ment than that found in the change of meaning in the idea 
of holiness. Previous to the eighth-century prophets the 
conception of holiness held by the Hebrew people was the 
idea of sanctity which was common throughout the Semitic 
world and which resembled that which is still to be found 
among all primitive peoples. The eighth-century prophets 
repudiated these primitive ideas but they were not able to 
eradicate entirely the earlier views which will be found 
reappearing in the legislation that sprang up to enforce 
Jewish religion after the Exile. 

Examine 1 Samuel 21. 4, 5; 2 Samuel 11. 11; Deu- 
teronomy 12. 26; Isaiah 13. 3. It will be observed that 
holiness is ascribed to things used in connection with 
a sanctuary; that soldiers were sacred persons because 
war was initiated by sacrifice and was conducted under 
the immediate direction of the Deity; that prophets were 
holy men of God not because of saintliness of character 
but because they were in the service of God. In Leviti- 
cus 6. 18-23, Isaiah 65. 5, and Ezekiel 44. 19 appear 
some of the most primitive ideas concerning holiness. Here 
it appears (1) that a person or thing is holy which is set 
apart for divine use, (2) that holiness is something that 
may be passed on to others through contact, and (3) that 
such holiness rendered its possessors unfit to participate 
in ordinary life. This holiness, gotten by contagion, needed 
to be purged away by purificatory rites before its pos- 
sessors could resume their secular vocations. 

Holiness for Isaiah. — Until the eighth-century proph- 
ets spoke, holiness, in the thought of mankind, had 
nothing to do with morality and purity of life. Applied 
to deity it meant irresistible power and unapproachable 



20 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

majesty. In its earliest use "the holy God" meant no 
more than God. But with Amos a new conception of God 
arises. In the thought of the prophets and their disciples 
God is to be characterized by moral qualities. Isaiah's 
vision of the holy Jehovah proclaims that holiness has 
expanded into righteousness. 

The whole mission of Isaiah centers in this new con- 
ception of deity. Jehovah's holiness is not ritual but 
ethical, and the holiness that Jehovah demands is moral 
living. Jehovah is exalted above men neither by his power 
nor by his capriciousness. If there is a chasm between him 
and his creatures, this alienation is caused by the want 
of morality in Judah. That Jehovah is holy and lives 
apart from men was not a new conception. The Hebrew 
ever had been aware of a distinction between sacred and 
common, but this distinction had not been ethicized. Dis- 
ease, an issue of blood, contact with the dead, a journey 
into a foreign land, the eating of tabooed animals, made 
men and women unclean and unfitted them for drawing 
near an altar and mingling in the sacred festivals. To the 
people in Isaiah's day holiness meant that the shrines, 
the priests, the sacrifices, and the worshipers participating 
in the religious feasts must be free from those physical 
conditions which rendered them ritually unclean. This 
ritual uncleanness made them objectionable to Jehovah, 
they knew not why, and aroused his wrath. Holiness in 
Jehovah they understood as majesty, the exalted dignity 
of a being elevated above the chances and changes of the 
world. 

Isaiah felt that such a Deity could not save Judah in its 
desperate need. There must be in him some loftier nature 
than was commonly believed, and there must be some 
deeper ground of acceptability to him than the old dis- 
tinction of clean and unclean. This aspiration of Isaiah 
was the open door for the inspiration of Jehovah. It 
was revealed to the prophet that the one cleanness that 
Jehovah desired was in life, and the uncleanness that he 
abhorred was greed, lust, and injustice. He saw that the 
essence of deity is not power but the splendid radiance 



THE EAKLY PEOPHECIES OF ISAIAH 21 

of ethical life. Jehovah is to be feared not because he is 
all-powerful but because he is opposed to all that is impure 
and unjust. 

The Earliest Prophecies op Isaiah 

It is generally agreed that Isaiah 2. 6-21 is to be placed 
among the earliest of Isaiah's utterances and illustrates 
his thought shortly after the death of Uzziah. Judah was 
then enjoying the peace and prosperity that had been 
increasing through this king's long reign and that con- 
tinued through the reign of his son and successor, Jotham, 
and produced that sense of security so fatal to Ahaz in 
the days of the Syro-Ephraimitic War. The date 739 
B. C. fairly represents the time. 

Eead carefully this section and make a list of the faults 
for which Jehovah has renounced the nation. Verse 6 
should be translated: 

"He hath renounced his people, the house of Judah, 
For they are full of divination from the East 
And are full of soothsayers, like the Philistines, 
They make compacts with foreigners/' 

Observe that Isaiah, like Amos, traces the sins of the 
people to their greed for wealth. In what way has com- 
merce contributed to defection from Jehovah? Does 
Isaiah feel that financial prosperity weakens in men the 
feeling of dependence on God ? * What does Isaiah mean 
by the "haughtiness of men" (2. 17) ? Note especially 
the assurance that "there shall be a day of Jehovah of 
hosts" (2. 12). What does Isaiah understand by this? 
What judgments does Isaiah pronounce upon Judah ? 

Examine Isaiah 3. 1 to 4. 1. This section also is among 
the early oracles of Isaiah. Note the additional disorders 
that are leading on the destruction of the state. Who are 
the "stay and staff" of Judah — that is, the leaders and the 
supporters of the state? Observe especially the religious 
leaders. These are the judge — that is, the priest who de- 

: l See The Religion of Israel, Ascham, page 203. 



22 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

livers oracles at the sanctuary — the prophet, the diviner, 
the cunning artificer — that is, the expert magician and 
the skillful enchanter. It was a capricious universe in 
which people anciently lived. Men neither understood that 
nature is guided by law nor believed that God's dealings 
with them were determined by moral purposes. There- 
fore, men and women lived in a constant anxiety to dis- 
cover the will of their deity or deities and to placate their 
whims. It is a sad world that turns to the soothsayer 
and diviner. Isaiah knew a different world and he was 
doing his utmost to lead his countrymen to believe in a 
Deity whose will was discoverable in moral thinking and 
action, and whose willingness to bless never withdrew from 
those who faithfully served him by righteous living. 

Isaiah sternly denounces the socially favored leaders 
who have not hesitated to live by economic oppression of 
the poor (3. 14, 15). The women of his times by wanton- 
ness and luxury contribute to the general demoraliza- 
tion of the nation (3. 16, 17). Isaiah's words will recall 
the scorn of Amos for the "kine" of Samaria (Amos 
4. 1), whose sensuousness made for the destruction of the 
northern kingdom. Observe the doom Isaiah pronounces 
upon the thoughtless and selfish women of his day (3. 24 
to 4.1). 

The beautiful parable of the vineyard, Isaiah 5. 1-24, 
also dates from the early years of Isaiah's ministry and 
belongs probably to the last year of Jotham's reign, when 
the threatened approach of the Syrian *and Israelitish 
forces brought keenly to the prophet the dissoluteness of 
the state. Note the beauty of the imagery and the swift 
application in verse 7, when the attention and sympathy 
of his hearers have been secured. What instances of a 
fruitless vineyard are cited in verses 7, 8, 11, 12, 18, 23 ? 
What penalty is to be meted out to these land-grabbers, 
drunkards, scorners of the judgments of Jehovah, triflers 
with moral distinctions, and accepters of bribes? Note 
that Isaiah (5. 24) sums up the sin of Judah as a rejec- 
tion of the instruction of Jehovah of hosts. By the law 
or teaching of Jehovah, Isaiah does not mean a definite 



THE EARLY PEOPHECIES OF ISAIAH 23 

set of laws but such social principles of honorable dealing 
as had come to be more or less clearly defined through the 
centuries. These principles had been enunciated by priests 
at the sanctuaries, by prophets, and by other eminent men 
who endeavored to make human society more secure. 
The better knowledge of life that had sprung up in the 
human conscience Isaiah holds is the teaching of Jehovah. 
We close our study of this group of early prophecies 
with an oracle against Israel. It was impossible for a 
prophet of the southern kingdom to keep silent about the 
northern state. Already Amos, a dozen years before, had 
left his southern home to proclaim his message from 
Jehovah at Bethel. Eead Isaiah 9. 8 to 10. 4. This section 
is a denunciation of the arrogance and folly of the northern 
kingdom in failing to profit from the disasters already 
befallen the state and its blindness to the approaching 
danger from Assyria. Afflictions already endured have 
not taught the nation's leaders to set the state in order. 
The weak and defenseless are openly wronged, tribal feuds 
curse the land, and a general condition of anarchy pre- 
vails. Isaiah 5. 25-30 is the conclusion of this oracle. 
There is nothing in Hebrew prophecy which surpasses the 
vivid imagery describing the approach of the avenging 
Assyrian hordes upon guilty Israel. 

Thoughts for Our Times 

Driven by the profound sense of the false security of his 
times, Isaiah was brooding in the Temple when the vision 
came. Aspiration ever precedes inspiration. Higher re- 
ligious conceptions always are first formed within aspiring 
souls. God never becomes a reality to the man who does 
not question the universe. Man climbs to heaven. He 
dreams of the eternal city before he finds a ladder reaching 
from his stony pillow to its golden portals. 

It was the Jerusalem Temple, with its failure to com- 
mand the conscience of his day, which set Isaiah groping 
for a loftier religious authority. Each new and command- 
ing revelation is never a complete break with the past; 



24 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

it is always a development of existent ideas and forms. To 
apprehend this truth fully makes for the progress of the 
kingdom. About lis everywhere are vast sections of life 
where the principles of Christian brotherhood are not ap- 
plied. Sometimes it is ignorance, as well as cursed selfish- 
ness, which delays the better day. To feel that the greatest 
advances are never a birth out of nothing but the result of 
long processes of development will hold us heroically 
to our tasks and quicken our vision. 

Isaiah makes no effort to overturn Judah's political and 
economic institutions. Whether he was satisfied with them, 
we do not know. If he could have had his way he would 
have swept aside the soothsaying, the idolatry, and the 
religious feasts. He gladly would have had such customs 
perish. There was in them no basis of reform. But the 
prophet well understood that in order to obtain a just 
society it is necessary to change the spirit of living rather 
than to change an institution. 

Consciousness of God is our guard against sin. It is 
infrequently that we remind ourselves of his presence in 
our life. To remember that our very being is the product 
of his continual thought enables us to think con- 
stantly of him as the sleepless, loving Father, ever ready 
to enter into communion with us. To think of yourself, 
when your thoughts turn upon self, as God's child, servant, 
and friend; of your home as God's guest house; of your 
business as God's talent intrusted to you; of your recrea- 
tions as God's way of keeping you healthy and whole- 
some; of your fellow beings as brothers and sisters in his 
family, would eliminate sin in your life. To gaze steadily 
upon the face of God is the one perfect way to noble 
character. 

You may read Isaiah's vision over and over, but it is 
not your vision. The most heroic religious achievement of 
the past avails you nothing unless it leads you to re- 
produce it in your own life. You cannot rest with 
other men's visions of God; you must possess your own. 
When your vision of God comes it may draw from you a 
cry of woe. Your life will seem so fruitless measured by 



THE EARLY PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH 25 

your opportunities. When your vision comes, you will 
cease to apologize for righteousness ; you will cease to com- 
promise with doubtful wrong; you will no longer cringe 
before blustering evils. Get your vision of God, like the 
disciples at Emmaus, when he breaks your bread, not 
when he breaks your heart. It is not opportunity but 
vision that you need. If the vision of God passes you 
by — the vision that burns up the dross and purifies you 
for service, that turns the stammering tongue into noble 
eloquence and your faltering feet toward paths of service 
— it is because you look for God in the storm, the lightning, 
and the earthquake rather than in the temple of your 
daily contact with your fellow men. 

The Hebrews believed in contagious holiness. To touch 
a holy person or object infected one with holiness. But 
the holiness that was conferred in this manner unfitted 
one to fulfill the common duties of life. We still believe 
that holiness is contagious. When one lives worthily, the 
life of others in immediate association takes on a finer 
spirit. Genuine Christian living induces others to live 
nobly. But this holiness does not make more difficult the 
common day and the customary duty. It is an inspiration, 
not a destruction of life. 

Themes for Class Discussion 

1. Narrate some of the historical incidents which engaged 
Isaiah's attention at the threshold of his public ministry. 

2. Describe the event which inaugurated Isaiah's prophetic 
career. 

3. What was the popular conception of holiness? What did 
Isaiah understand by holiness? 

4. What social wrongs did Isaiah condemn? 

5. What religious practices met his disapproval? 

6. What was Isaiah's doctrine of "the day of Jehovah"? 

7. What punishments did Isaiah believe would fall upon his 
countrymen? By what agency would they be inflicted? 

8. What did Isaiah conceive to be the cause of the social 
anarchy which was dooming the state? 

9. What salary did Isaiah receive for his preaching? 

10. Judging from Amos, Hosea, and from this first study of 
Isaiah, what do you consider is the characteristic feature of 
eighth-century Hebrew prophecy? 






26 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 



Suggested Readings 

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Wade, pages xvii-xl. 

Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, pages 
137-53. 

The Religion of Israel, Smith, pages 147-54. 

Article, "Holiness," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 
Hastings. 



CHAPTEE III 

ISAIAH AND THE JUD^EAN CEISIS OF 735 B. C. 

Isaiah now assumes the leading role in the spiritual 
life of Judah. In the first years of his ministry, like 
Amos and Hosea, he has but little influence upon the social 
and political life of the state; henceforth, throughout his 
long career, Isaiah appears a political counsel not to be 
ignored. The present chapter is a study of the conditions 
in Judah arising through the international relations in 
which the state became involved and of the messages Isaiah 
spoke to his countrymen in this eventful crisis. 

The Syko-Epheaimitic Invasion of Judah 

The Coalition Against Assyria. — Ahaz, the son of 
Jotham, came to the throne of Judah in 735. Imme- 
diately he had to face the combined attack of Israel and 
Syria (Damascus). Eead 2 Kings 16. 5-9. From these 
verses it appears that these two states, having determined 
to make a stand against the conquering progress of Assyria 
in the west, apparently had solicited Judah, while Jotham 
was yet king, to join the confederacy. The refusal of 
Ahaz to unite in a coalition against the powerfjil Assyrian 
led the two allies into an attempt to force Ahaz to join 
them. Eead Isaiah 7. 1, 2 for a description of the con- 
sternation into which Judah was thrown by the proposed 
attack. Ahaz could not be forced into an attack upon 
Assyria, but Elath (2 Kings 16. 6) was captured by the 
Syrians. 

Ahaz made overtures to Assyria to come to his relief. 
He sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser and voluntarily, by 
the payment of tribute, acknowledged Judah to be a de- 
pendency of Assyria. Eead 2 Kings 16. 7-10. The Temple 
was despoiled of many treasures to pay this tribute, and 
Ahaz himself went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser. 
The appeal of Ahaz to Assyria resulted in an attack by 

27 



28 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

Assyria upon Syria and Israel. The northern kingdom 
suffered severely. Many towns were captured, and their 
inhabitants were deported into Assyria. Read 2 Kings 

15. 29, 30 for the story of Israel's humiliation. This was 
in 734 or 733 B. C. Damascus was captured by Assyria 
in 732 B. C. These events and their sequence reveal the 
remarkable character of Isaiah's statesmanship. 

Innovations Introduced by Ahaz. — Examine 2 Kings 

16. 10-16. The interests of Ahaz were not wholly political. 
He saw an altar in Damascus whose design so greatly 
pleased him that orders were given to erect a duplicate 
in the Temple at Jerusalem. On his return Ahaz conse- 
crated the new altar. "The brazen altar shall be for me 
to inquire by" (verse 15) indicates that the king cus- 
tomarily performed a certain class of sacrifices. The inno- 
vation of Ahaz is not easy to comprehend. W. R. Smith 
believes that a tireless type of sacrifice was earlier than the 
offering by burning the sacrificial portions; that in the 
earlier custom the blood was dashed against the altar. As 
long as burnt offerings were rare, it was not necessary to 
have a permanent hearth-altar. He believes that this new 
altar was a "permanent hearth-altar," and that the innova- 
tion was also in the adoption of "the rule that in ordinary 
cases this new altar should serve for the blood ritual as 
well as for the fire ritual." Whatever were the precise 
details of the new arrangement, the historian regarded the 
change as significant. It is possible that the interest of 
Ahaz in the ritual indicates that the popular conception 
of religion demanded greater attention to the ritual as 
national calamities increased. It certainly means that 
the great altar of burnt offering found in the succeeding 
Temple was a foreign importation. It is of much interest 
also that at this period the king, not the priest, exercised 
absolute control over the Temple and its worship. 

Isaiah's Prophetic Statesmanship 

Isaiah's Message to Ahaz. — Examine Isaiah 7. 3-17. 
Isaiah opposed the alliance with Assyria and did his 



ISAIAH AND THE JUD^AN CEISIS 29 

utmost to convince Ahaz that there was no real danger to 
be feared from Israel and Syria. He believed himself 
the direct messenger of Jehovah to his king and he spoke 
with unwavering confidence that Jehovah would protect 
and rescue Judah from the threatening ills. Observe the 
method taken by Isaiah to convince Ahaz that he ought 
to trust Jehovah rather than Assyria. If this purpose of 
Isaiah is remembered, verses 14-17 offer little difficulty. 
The Hebrew word translated "virgin" means a young 
woman old enough to become a mother. Isaiah urges that 
Israel and Syria can be only a brief menace to Judah: 
that before a woman — any woman now marrying — can 
have a child emerging from babyhood, certain things will 
occur. At the first dawn of discriminating intelligence — 
that is, within two or three years — the lands of Samaria 
and Damascus will be overrun by a foreign power. 

But this is not all : Judah also will share in the general 
calamity. This child — that is, any child — within two or 
three years, on account of the desolations of war, will be 
limited to the plain fare of curds and honey. Dire days 
of devastation (verse 17) are falling upon Judah also. 
It is quite probable that Isaiah was already aware when 
he met Ahaz or guessed the truth from the king's conversa- 
tion that an alliance was to be made with Assyria or 
already had been made. To the prophet such utter reli- 
ance upon human aid was a rejection of Jehovah, and the 
moral failure of the house of Judah to trust its God gave 
Isaiah vision to foresee the inevitable outcome of calling 
Assyrian aid. 

Eead Isaiah 7. 18-25. It is probable that this section 
was a part of Isaiah's message to Ahaz at the time that 
he predicted the defeat of the coalition. It certainly be- 
longs to the same period. Observe that Isaiah becomes 
more specific in his statement of the disasters that await 
Judah from the false statesmanship of Ahaz. Note that 
Egypt and Assyria in this internecine conflict will over- 
run Judah and fill the land with desolation. Note also the 
examples of poverty and destruction given by Isaiah. 

Isaiah's Appeal to the Populace. — Examine Isaiah 



3.0 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

8. 1-4. Note Isaiah's method of making a public appeal. 
Such a strange message, set up in a public place — no doubt 
in the court of the Temple — gave Isaiah continual oppor- 
tunity to warn and encourage the people. Notice the 
parallel, in his own child, of the Immanuel prophecy in 
7. 14-17. 

Isaiah's Assurance of the Approaching Overthrow 
of Syria and Israel. — Eead Isaiah 17. 1-11. This oracle 
closely followed those just studied and was intended to 
relieve the strain of the Syro-Ephraimitic invasion. 
Assyria is not expressly stated to be the conqueror of the 
northern states, but no auditor of Isaiah could have mis- 
understood him. Observe the striking images of desola- 
tion in verses 5 and 6 ; the cause of Israel's destruction, 
verses 10 and 11 ; the presence of the cult of Adonis 
(Tammuz) in Israel, whose worship included the cultiva- 
tion of gardens or potted plants that quickly blossomed 
and as promptly withered. 

Isaiah's Counsel Is Rejected. — Isaiah's warnings fall 
unheeded upon court and people alike. Ahaz, as noted 
above, enters into alliance with Assyria and so forges 
the bitter bonds of vassalage upon the southern state. This 
action is intolerably grievous to Isaiah as a patriot and 
a religionist. Eead Isaiah 8. 5-15. Yerse 6 may be ren- 
dered : 

"Because this people have rejected the waters of Shiloah 

that flow softly, 
And are dismayed because of Rezin and Remaliah's son." 

"The waters of Shiloah" (the Pool of Siloam, once within 
the walls of the city) is the prophet's metaphor for the un- 
failing helpfulness of Jehovah. Because Ahaz rejects 
Jehovah and trusts Assyria, Jehovah will overwhelm Judah 
with "the waters of the River" — that is, the Assyrian 
armies. In verse 8 the image suddenly changes to a bird 
of prey. Isaiah expects the Assyrian to be victorious over 
Syria and Israel and to sweep into Judah also. But 
Judah will not be totally destroyed. Coalition against 



ISAIAH AND THE JUD^AN CRISIS 31 

Judah and revolts against Assyria alike will be of no avail. 
Other nations will go down before the conqueror, but 
Judah, because "God is with us," will survive. What the 
king and people called conspiracy, and before which they 
trembled, Isaiah saw to be the hand of Jehovah laid 
inflictingly upon his people. Jehovah of hosts is Judah's 
Conspirator (so read in verse 13 instead of "him shall ye 
sanctify"). He is the stumblingblock for the two king- 
doms. The sins and the headstrong, worldly policies of 
the Hebrew states inevitably are hastening their destruc- 
tion. 

Isaiah feels that, since his counsel is rejected by Ahaz, 
his public usefulness, at least temporarily, is at an end. 
Read 8. 16-18. The prophet evidently withdraws from 
public speech and from any attempt to guide the political 
destiny of his country. Undoubtedly he had made some 
disciples. He must have kept in touch with these and 
waited for a more favorable opportunity to resume his 
public ministry. This decision was hastened by the popular 
rejection of true prophetic guidance. The people turn, 
instead, to the grossest superstitions. Examine 8. 19-22. 
Verses 19 and 20 may be translated: 

"When they say unto you, Inquire of the spirits of the 

dead, 
And the necromancers who chirp and mutter: 
Should not a people inquire of their departed? 
On behalf of the living should they not consult the dead?" 

To such solicitation of the distracted and frightened people 
by the champions of superstition Isaiah thunders his 
answer: "To the instruction and the testimony." Let 
them go to the prophets of whom Amos has said (3. 7), 
"Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveal 
his secret unto his servants the prophets/' Isaiah felt that 
for those who listened to such proposals from necromancers 
and spiritualistic mediums the future was dark indeed. 
Verses 21 and 22 add a final picture of desolation and 
gloom. 



32 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

SUMMARY OF ISAIAH'S RELIGIOUS VlEWS IN THIS MIDDLE 

Period of His Ministry 

Isaiah's Political Policy. — Isaiah possessed an unwav- 
ering political policy. He opposed all entangling alliances 
with foreign powers. An alliance with Israel and Syria 
he opposed with the same vigor with which he denounced 
any affiliation with Egypt and Assyria. The little states 
lying between Assyria and Egypt lived precariously. 
Isaiah believed that Judah should ally itself with Jehovah 
alone. His political policy was essentially religious. 

Beginning his ministry, like Amos and Hosea, with an 
overwhelming sense of Jehovah's holiness, he severely de- 
nounced the social sins and religious defection of rulers 
and people. Like these earlier prophets Isaiah at first 
held that nothing but the destruction of the state would 
eliminate the evils that were undermining the social order ; 
but as the rigors of the Assyrian vassalage became more 
apparent, and the despair of people and court grew deeper, 
Isaiah reached a turning point in his ministry and began 
to preach the indestructibility of Jehovah's people. It 
seemed incredible to him that Jehovah's purpose to mold 
a people into conformity to his holy will could be accom- 
plished anywhere outside his chosen land. That Jehovah 
dwells in Mount Zion is a fixed belief of the prophet. In 
this belief Isaiah sets a limit to the impending judgment. 
This had not been done by Amos and was uttered vaguely 
by Hosea. Isaiah asserts that in the coming disaster 
Jehovah will preserve all that is necessary to make possible 
the quickening of the nation into a holy people of God. 
Isaiah does not predict a captivity. Rather is the state to 
be overwhelmed by the Assyrian invasion, but out of the 
ruins a new social order is to arise in conformity to 
Jehovah's righteous will. 

This is the central theme of Isaianic prophecy. Je- 
hovah will not suffer his people to be utterly destroyed. 
Read again 8. 8 and note the language in which this belief 
is expressed. Study too, in the light of this conception 
of a faithful remnant, the symbolic name of Isaiah's son 



ISAIAH AND THE JUD^EAN CRISIS 33 

in 7. 3 (marginal reading). This remnant that is to re- 
turn unto Jehovah is not some happy band of exiles return- 
ing from captivity in a foreign land, but earnest citizens 
of the state, purged by the calamities that have scourged 
the nation, who seek Jehovah, and whose seeking eventuates 
in righteousness. 

The Prophet's Religious Beliefs. — Like Amos and 
Hosea, Isaiah preaches a practical monotheism. He asserts 
that Jehovah will chastise the confederate states that have 
assailed Judah. For Isaiah the gods of Damascus and 
Assyria have nothing to do with the destiny of nations. 
Jehovah rules them according to his will. "He fills the 
whole earth with his glory" is the Isaianic creed. Isaiah 
laughs at the idols. God is not merely the one God in 
the affairs of the world: he is a holy God whose essential 
nature is righteousness. Since holiness involves devo- 
tion to Jehovah, expressed in justice and righteousness, 
Isaiah saw the futility of the prevailing ritual to bring 
men into a correct relation with Jehovah. 

Consider the religious faith of Isaiah. It never is an 
easy task to pioneer in religion. Undoubtedly Isaiah was 
familiar with the utterances of Amos and Hosea, but 
the positions taken by them were not the beliefs of the 
masses. Their messages had not lightened the religious 
task to which Isaiah gave himself. Isaiah swung free 
from the prevailing conceptions of Jehovah and from the 
customary worship into a far more spiritual conception 
of God and of his requirements from man. This is always 
the work of genius and abounding faith. Not every modern 
conception surpasses the old, but it takes more faith to 
move forward into a new realization of the character and 
purposes of God than to hold fast to the achievements 
of the fathers. 

The prophet Isaiah is characterized by his faith. He 
believed in a nobler duty than did his contemporaries; he 
believed in the value of chastisement ; he believed in a new 
social order. For this faith he lived and for it he would 
have died. He hesitated at no defense of his faith and 
shrank from no chance to proclaim his great convictions. 



34 THE KELIGIOtf OF JUDAH 



Thoughts for Kingdom Builders 

The Isaiah who declared of Jehovah, "The whole earth 
is full of his glory," also wrote, "Jehovah of hosts, who 
dwelleth in mount Zion." It is one of the difficult tasks 
for thought to present adequately the universal regnancy 
of the heavenly Father and at the same time to be aware of 
his presence in a unique way in the immediate concerns of 
the individual life. Yet there is no great religion apart 
from such faith. We cannot hold a satisfactory sense of 
God's comradeship with us unless we enthrone him as the 
master will of the universe. God cannot dwell adequately 
for human needs in Jerusalem unless he fills also the whole 
earth. He cannot share his throne and sway the world. 
God never has abdicated in favor of the devil. 

"I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are 
for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts" 
(8. 18), said Isaiah to his countrymen. Let any man 
make himself and his household a manifestation of the 
purposes of God, and he becomes an intellectual and moral 
leader in his community. Any religious man should re- 
gard himself as a point of contact between God's thought 
and human society. Each man who prays, "Thy kingdom 
come," to be sincere must make his own life a highway for 
the coming King. 

Possibly you have come in contact with persons who 
have resented the implied or spoken judgment of your 
Christian discipleship. It is well to remember that when 
purity of life, fine sympathy, and sterling integrity in all 
engagements are coupled with vigorous faith, there is little 
honest adverse criticism with regard to the most earnest 
propaganda of your religious convictions. Ahaz and his 
court did not yield to Isaiah's evangel but they respected 
the messenger. Isaiah's life had been purged by a vision 
of Jehovah's righteousness before he addressed his coun- 
trymen. If you have been quickened by an experience of 
God and hold radiant ideals of the ought-to-be, you are 
accursed unless you seek to bring others to the dawn that 
has arisen in your own soul. 



ISAIAH AND THE JUD^AN CRISIS 35 



Becoming Acquainted With Isaiah 

1. What is known concerning the personal life of Isaiah? 

2. What political dangers from abroad threatened Judah? 

3. What was Isaiah's doctrine concerning foreign political 
alliances? Why did he object to an alliance with Israel and 
Syria? Why did he oppose any acknowledgment of the As- 
syrian? 

4. What was the religious basis of his political policy? 

5. What effort did he make to dissuade Ahaz from appealing 
to Assyria for relief from the Syro-Ephraimitic invasion? 

6. What were some of the prevailing religious beliefs and 
usages, and what was Isaiah's attitude toward them? 

7. What change did Isaiah make in his beliefs about the 
destruction of Judah? What were his reasons for this change? 

8. In what way did Isaiah's beliefs vary from those of Amos 
and Hosea? 

Selected Readings 

Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 225-37. 

Article, "Isaiah," in Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, 
Sections II and VI. 

Isaiah: His Life and Times, Driver, Chapter IV. 

Isaiah in "The Expositor's Bible," G. A. Smith, Book I, 
Chapter VI. 



CHAPTER IV 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYRIAN INVASION 

Thirty years intervene between the subjection of Judah 
to Assyria by Ahaz in 735 B. C. and the Assyrian invasion 
of Judah in regard to which the prophecies of Isaiah reach 
their climax of political statesmanship and of denuncia- 
tion and hope for Judah. Great political events take place 
in this period. Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, 
after a long siege succumbed to the army of Sargon, king 
of Assyria, in 721 B. C. The destruction of Israel stirred 
Judah as no other fact in her history had done. The inept 
policy of Ahaz became apparent to all, and the soundness 
of Isaiah's counsel to keep free from Assyria was fully 
acknowledged. 

Succeeding events increased Judah's fear of Assyria. 
In 720 some of the Philistine cities, supported by Egypt, 
revolted from Assyria and were severely punished by Sar- 
gon. It became continually more apparent that the 
Assyrian threatened the very existence of all the little 
states in Syria and Palestine. During the next ten years 
Sargon was busy in other portions of his empire; and 
Judah, growing restive under the annual tribute, de- 
veloped an Egyptian party, whose members lent them- 
selves to hopes and suggestions of an alliance of western 
states, supported by Egypt, to throw off the sovereignty of 
the Assyrian. Sargon crushed the movement by the cap- 
ture of Ashdod in 711 B. C. 

Isaiah's messages during these thirty years were di- 
rected toward keeping Judah faithful to Assyria, to pre- 
dictions of Assyria's ultimate overthrow, to denuncia- 
tions of Judah's sins, and to promises of better days in 
the little state. The following sermons of Isaiah are 
exceedingly difficult to place in exact chronological order. 

36 



ISAIAH AND THE ASSYRIAN INVASION 37 

The arrangement here adopted offers as few difficulties 
as any. 

The First Years of the Reign of Hezekiah 

Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, came to the throne of Judah 
in 715 B. C. (some think as early as 720 B. C). An in- 
teresting narrative of the sickness and recovery of Heze- 
kiah is presented in 2 Kings 20. 1-11. At about the same 
time, perhaps in 714 B. C, came the embassy from Mero- 
dach-baladan. Examine 2 Kings 20. 12-19 and Isaiah 
39. 1-8. Merodach-baladan, the king of a small state at 
the head of the Persian Gulf, seized Babylon in 721 B. C. 
and held the throne against the Assyrians for eleven years. 
Evidently it was during this period that he sought an alli- 
ance with Judah against Assyria. Hezekiah, restless under 
Assyria, received the embassy, but the opposition of Isaiah 
and his own best counsels kept him from the peril of the 
proposed alliance. 

Isaiah 28. 7-22 is a stinging reproof of the social life 
and political outlook of priests and princes. This charac- 
terization of the internal conditions of Judah faithfully 
reports the evils prevailing during a decade and more 
preceding the invasion of Sennacherib. Drunkenness had 
become a curse. Even at the religious feasts men became 
"soused." No longer do the prophets possess a true vision 
of Jehovah's ways, and the drunken priests fail to pro- 
nounce just judgments. These leaders, whom Isaiah seeks 
to rouse from this disastrous vice, mockingly retort that 
he prattles like a child (verses 9 and 10), saying the same 
senseless words over and over. Isaiah replies to their 
taunt that a people speaking a foreign tongue — for them 
the jargon they ascribe to the prophet — will deliver Je- 
hovah's judgments upon them. In the latter part of this 
section Isaiah rebukes the political leaders who think that 
in political scheming the safety of Jerusalem lies. In 
justice and righteousness and in the trust of Jehovah lies 
the opportunity of Judah's escape from the aggressions 
of powerful neighbors. 

Read Isaiah 20. 1-6. As early as 711 B. C, an alliance 



38 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

with Egypt became the policy of the Palestinian states 
in order to free themselves from Assyria. But it was not 
until 708 that Egypt was in position to render any effective 
aid against Assyria. The revolt of Ashdod in 711 was 
severely punished by Sargon. In this section Isaiah, in a 
very expressive manner, sets forth the folly of any attempt 
to discard the Assyrian yoke and the impossibility of 
placing any reliance upon Egypt. 

Sargon was assassinated in 705 B. C, and his son Sen- 
nacherib came to the Assyrian throne. The death of this 
great military leader was the signal of revolt throughout 
his empire. Phoenician and Philistine cities, encour- 
aged by Egypt, threw off the foreign yoke; and the 
Egyptian party in Jerusalem, against the remonstrances 
of Isaiah, succeeded in winning Hezekiah to join the 
rebellion. 

Prophecies Against an Alliance With Egypt 

Examine Isaiah 29. 15-21. At the time that this oracle 
was uttered, those leaders in Judah who thought to escape 
from the rigors of the Assyrian by an alliance with Egypt 
were secretly plotting this transfer of allegiance. Such 
counsel is sure to fail. It is against the plans of Jehovah. 
The clay might as well ignore the potter as the people, of 
Judah their God. Let them trust Jehovah, and the "ter- 
rible one" — that is, the Assyrian — will be "brought to 
nought." 

Study Isaiah 30. 1-7. The secret leaning toward Egypt 
has become an open policy. Emissaries with rich presents 
have been sent by Hezekiah to Egypt. Observe the man- 
ner in which Isaiah denounces this embassy. It is an 
added sin to Judah's already overdrawn account in the 
patience of Jehovah. Not to have counseled with Jehovah's 
prophets, not to have followed their advice, is the certain 
assurance that the project will fail. Notice the fine scorn 
of the phrase "to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!" 

Eead Isaiah 31. 1-9. This is a strong but tender plea 
that Judah will not turn to Egypt in order to be freed 
from Assyria. "The Egyptians are men, and not God." 



ISAIAH AND THE ASSYEIAN INVASION 39 

Jehovah alone can save Judah from Assyria. He will 
fight on Mount Zion like a lioness for her young. As a 
mother bird protects her offspring, so Jehovah will hover 
over Jerusalem. "Turn unto Jehovah, against whom you 
have deeply revolted," urges Isaiah ; "put away your idols, 
and then shall the sword of Jehovah be lifted against the 
Assyrian, and you shall be free." 

Prophecies Dealing With Assyria 

Examine Isaiah 29. 1-8. To understand this section 
and, indeed, the entire group of oracles studied in this 
chapter, it must be kept in mind that Isaiah, during the 
latter years of his life, had two objectives constantly before 
him. These were (1) to prevent Judah from throwing 
off the Assyrian yoke to join an alliance led by Egypt 
and (2) to assure his countrymen that loyalty to Jehovah 
would lead them safely through every affliction. The pre- 
ceding chapter narrates the attitude of Isaiah toward the 
Assyrian alliance when it was initiated by Ahaz. He had 
opposed that policy with all his might. But once it had 
been adopted, he continually counseled loyalty to Assyria. 
He clearly foresaw the disastrous consequences of revolt. 
Judah apart from Jehovah's aid was too weak to contend 
with Assyria. Patient bearing of the Assyrian yoke and 
renewed consecration to Jehovah would eventuate in Je- 
hovah's interference in their behalf. The rescue of Judah 
from Assyria depended on loyalty to Jehovah. 

Eead 29. 1-5, which expresses Isaiah's grief at the pro- 
posed rebellion against Assyria and his prediction of its 
consequences. "Ariel" probably means "altar-hearth," at 
which sacrifices are offered. The whole city will become 
an altar, and its sacrificial victims will be the inhabitants 
slain, as the result of a false political policy, by Assyrian 
armies. The city, humiliated by the afflictions of the con- 
quest, will speak humbly, like the tones of the necroman- 
cer. But this severe visitation will not be lasting. The 
Assyrian invasion is indeed a visitation from Jehovah ; but 
the thunder, the earthquake, the whirlwind, the tempest, 
and the fire, which he directs against Jerusalem (29. 5-8), 



40 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

shall pass, and Judah's foes, having accomplished Jeho- 
vah's purposes, shall be no more than "a vision of the 
night." 

Isaiah 10. 5-27, written about 703 B. C, continues the 
prophet's oracles concerning Assyria. Notice the view that 
Isaiah takes of the coming invasion of Judah by the 
Assyrian armies. Assyria is the rod of Jehovah to smite 
Judah. Why does Jehovah visit this affliction upon Judah ? 
What condemnation is passed upon Assyria ? The student 
will note again Isaiah's teaching that Judah needs chas- 
tisement for her faithlessness to Jehovah, but that the 
nation shall not be overwhelmed utterly. What does 
Isaiah mean by "the Light of Israel" and "the Holy One 
of Israel"? What further statement is made concerning 
the Isaian doctrine of "the remnant" ? Does Isaiah expect 
an exile for Judah, under Sennacherib, such as Samaria 
experienced under Sargon? 

For a clearer view of the historical situation that called 
forth Isaiah's utterances at this period 2 Kings 18. 13-16 
must be studied. The events described took place in 701 
B. C. The Assyrian invasion here narrated and the tribute 
paid are corroborated by the Taylor Cylinder, a contem- 
porary Assyrian account of Sennacherib's victories. After 
enumerating the conquests among the Hittites, Phoenicians, 
and certain Philistine cities the record runs: "I drew 
near to Ekron; Padi, their king [whom his rebellious 
subjects had deposed, because he was loyal to Assyria, and 
had turned over to Hezekiah, the chief of the confederacy, 
for safe-keeping], I brought out of Jerusalem and set 
him again upon their throne. And of Hezekiah, the 
Judaean, who had not submitted to my yoke, forty-six 
strong cities with walls, the smaller cities which were 
around them without number, by the battering of rams 
and the assault of engines, the attack of foot soldiers, 
mines, breaches, and axes, I besieged and captured them. 
Two hundred thousand one hundred and fifty men, young 
and old, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, 
oxen and sheep without number, I brought out from them 
and counted as booty. [Hezekiah] himself I shut up like 



ISAIAH AND THE ASSYKIAN INVASION 41 

a caged bird within Jerusalem, his royal cily. I cast up 
intrenchments against him, and whomsoever came forth 
from the gate of his city I punished. His cities which I 
had plundered I separated from his land and gave them 
to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi of Ekron, and Sillibel 
of Gaza. Besides the former taxes paid yearly I added 
tribute and presents. As for Hezekiah the fear of the 
majesty of my dominion overwhelmed him, and his troops 
deserted. With thirty talents of gold [and] eight 
hundred talents of silver, precious stones, couches 
and seats of ivory, elephant hide, ivory, heavy 
treasure, and his daughters, the women of his 
palace, male musicians, female musicians, he dispatched 
after me to Nineveh, my capital. He sent his ambassador 
to give tribute and make submission." (Cuneiform Par- 
allels to the Old Testament, Eogers, page 343f. condensed). 
The passage 2 Kings 18. 17 to 19. 8 is a supplementary 
Biblical account to be read in this connection. The appeal 
to Isaiah is the turn of the tide of the prophet's influence 
with the court. Note the confidence of Isaiah that Jeru- 
salem, guarded by Jehovah, is impregnable, and that the 
Assyrian, in spite of his boasting, is under the control not 
of Assyrian deities but of Jehovah. The account of the 
discomfiture of the Assyrian army given in 2 Kings 
19. 10-37 is best explained by supposing a second western 
campaign of Sennacherib. 

Study Isaiah 10. 28-32. This section was uttered after 
the Assyrian army was on the march to punish the rebel- 
lious western states and before the submission of Hezekiah 
narrated above. It was spoken before the exact line of 
Sennacherib's march was known. Isaiah rightly knew that 
upon Judah especially would the Assyrian vengeance fall. 
Observe that each succeeding site mentioned brings the 
invader nearer Jerusalem, and that Nob is within sight 
of the city walls. Examine 17. 12-14 and observe the 
mingled terror and comfort; state the language in which 
each is expressed. 

Turn now to Isaiah 30. 27-33. This section expresses 
Isaiah's final message concerning Assyria. Jehovah takes 



42 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

up the cause of beleaguered Judah. Assyria will be broken 
in pieces, and Judah will be filled with rejoicing. 

Prophecies Dealing With Internal Conditions in 
Judah From 705 to 701 B. C. 

Isaiah 29. 9-14. — Here Isaiah severely rebukes the citi- 
zens of Jerusalem for their failure to understand the 
political and religious conditions of the day. Gay and 
careless, they do not comprehend the menace from Assyria ; 
devoted to the ritual worship and wanting in moral insight 
and conscience, they offer Jehovah no more than a vain 
service of the lips. This message was uttered about 703 
B. C. 

Isaiah 30. 8-17. — The people will have none of true 
prophetic guidance. To be popular the prophets must 
declare smooth things. The truth the people will not hear. 
"Let us hear no more concerning the Holy One of Israel" 
is their rebuke of the prophet. 

Isaiah 32. 9-14. — Frivolous women of the wealthy class 
are here upbraided for their thoughtless, worthless life. 
The day comes when their gay laughter shall be turned into 
mourning for the devastated vineyards and fields. Here 
is another one of Isaiah's fine etchings of the social life 
of Jerusalem in the days of peril. This warning was 
uttered within a year or two of Sennacherib's invasion. 

Isaiah 22. 1-14. — Here too the citizens of Jerusalem 
are shown utterly callous to the danger threatening them. 
At a time when they should be in deep contrition and 
mourning in the face of impending disaster, the city is 
full of feasting, drinking, and merrymaking. Observe the 
manner in which the gayety of the people expresses itself. 
It was in this spirit that Judah was caught by the advance 
of Sennacherib, 

Sennacherib in Palestine 

Examine very carefully 2 Kings 18. 13 to 19. 37. Here 
we have three accounts of the dealing of Sennacherib with 
Jerusalem and Hezekiah. Without doubt the best view is 
to regard the narrative of 18. 13-16 as corresponding with 



ISAIAH AND THE ASSYKIAN INVASION 43 

the account of his campaign given by Sennacherib (see 
page 40). The passages 18. 17 to 19. 9 and 19. 9-37 
appear to be parallel accounts of the same attempt of Sen- 
nacherib to induce Hezekiah to surrender Jerusalem. Since 
he was not successful in this endeavor Sennacherib was not 
likely to make a record of his failure. Note the religious 
ideas in the first of these accounts. The emissaries of 
Sennacherib urge that the citizens of Jerusalem should 
not depend on Jehovah to deliver them from the power 
of Assyria. Jehovah, they claim, is angered because 
Hezekiah has torn down his altars upon the high places 
of the countryside. Is he more powerful, they ask, than 
the gods of other nations that have succumbed to the might 
of Sennacherib? They urge also that Sennacherib is the 
servant of Jehovah sent to punish Judah. The demand 
to surrender the city sorely tried Hezekiah. Perhaps with- 
out the strong faith of Isaiah asserting that Jehovah would 
save the city and would destroy the invading army Hezekiah 
would have yielded. Never was Isaiah's faith put to greater 
test, and never was he more completely vindicated. 

Summasy 

Isaiah's teaching up to this year of calamity and de- 
liverance (701 B. C.) may be stated thus: Jehovah is 
the Holy One of Israel ; this holiness consists in righteous- 
ness and justice; and these qualities he demands from 
Judah. The nation must put away its idols (2. 8) and 
its dependence on ritual worship (1. 11-15) and practice 
righteousness. This righteousness is to admonish the op- 
pressor, to obtain justice for the orphan, to plead the 
widow's cause. The state is rotten with drunkenness (28. 
7), murder (1. 21), bribery (1. 23), licentious worship 
(1. 29), and superstitions (3. 3). Its princes are thieves 
(1. 23), and its priests drunken knaves (28. 7). All these 
evils must be purged away, and Jerusalem must become the 
city of righteousness (1. 27). The crowning political 
folly of Judah was her alliance with Assyria. This final 
defection from Jehovah could issue only in national hu- 
miliation. This humiliation was hastened by the rebellion 



44 THE KELIGION OF JTJDAH 

of Hezekiah. Assyria now becomes Jehovah's instrument 
of chastisement (10. 5). But after Judah is reduced to 
the verge of dissolution, a remnant within the nation will 
return unto Jehovah — that is, seek him with that reverence 
and righteousness which alone can commend the people 
to the Holy One; and Assyria, the instrument of punish- 
ment and, indirectly, of the nation's return to righteous- 
ness, in its turn shall be crushed for its cruelties and inso- 
lence (10. 12-15). 

The invincibility of Jerusalem, Jehovah's sanctuary, is 
Isaiah's chief contribution to the political history of his 
people. Not only did the prophet's faith sustain Heze- 
kiah in the state's darkest hour, but this creed became of 
much religious significance in later years. It lies at the 
root of Jewish Messianism. The belief itself is a part of 
the conviction that Jehovah is the builder of an earthly 
kingdom of righteousness. Such a kingdom must have a 
capital, and there is no other than the city of David to be 
Jehovah's throne. We shall study expressions of this belief 
in later chapters. 

Isaiah, like Amos and Hosea, denounced the ritual that 
would permit murderers to approach, unchallenged, Je- 
hovah's sanctuaries (1. 15, 16). Such worship was rotten to 
the roots and must be put away. The nearer the Assyrian 
affliction came to Jerusalem, the more splendid became the 
worship. But it was all in vain. Jehovah cries out in 
Isaiah that he hates the whole religious program of Judah 
(1. 14) and that he will no more accept such unmeaning 
worship (1. 15). Here we have again the clash of the 
priestly and the prophetic ideal of religion and worship. 
To-day we are sure that the prophets were the men of vi- 
sion. Blood of bullocks cannot be wanted by an ethical 
Deity. Incense is never a substitute for righteous living. 
This is the mighty ethical reorganization of religion which 
it is Isaiah's glory to have accomplished for the whole 
world. Eeligion ever will be haunted by this ideal of 
ethical holiness; and whenever the moral vision lights 
upon the most distant son of man, he will be debtor to 
Isaiah, inhabitant of Jerusalem, but citizen of the world. 






ISAIAH AND THE ASSYRIAN INVASION 45 

For Kingdom Builders To-Day 

Beligion Versus Magic. — Think of the vision of Isaiah. 
In a day when his countrymen were dragging bullocks, 
rams, and goats to a sanctuary to splash their blood upon 
an altar of Jehovah, Isaiah saw that religion is com- 
radeship with God or it is nothing. No lamb can take 
away the sin of the world. No spilled blood can set a man 
in comradeship with God. 

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: 
A broken and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not de- 
spise." 

Nothing less than the seeker after righteousness can draw 
near a righteous Deity. God cannot be bribed by a present. 

The highest worship to be paid an ethical Deity is to 
imitate his character. "Shall two walk together, except they 
have agreed?" Christ calls us not primarily to believe in 
him but to believe with him. "If any man would come after 
me, let him . . . take up his cross, and follow me." Let 
him have his wilderness experience, his Galilean ministry, 
his intimate brotherhood, his Pharisaic antagonisms, his 
Gethsemane, his Golgotha. Let him have these, and he will 
have his slopes of Bethany. 

It is ever a tendency in man to confuse magic with 
religion, to burn incense rather than to purge the heart, 
to trust to external mechanism rather than the sanitation 
of the soul. No man's character ever was changed by an 
application of water, however sacred the priest declared the 
water to be. A vicious business or a worldly life is not 
atoned for by a contribution to church or charity. Violated 
treaties are not set right by donations of gold. The lust 
that overleaps the marriage vow is not less hideous because 
of loveliness of disposition. Nothing deals adequately with 
sin but repentance and a new life. 

The Test of Greatness. — Perhaps the greatness of a 
man is tested as in no other manner by the way he treats 
powerful enemies who succumb to defeat and humiliation. 
After Ahaz had reduced Judah to vassalage, Isaiah steadily 



46 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

counseled loyalty to Assyria. This course made him many 
enemies. His powerful opponents, blind to the disastrous 
consequences of their action, were able to force a break 
with Assyria. Isaiah had done his utmost to preserve the 
nationality of Judah. He was set aside by worldly-wise 
politicians. But in the hour of their sad discomfiture Isaiah 
ceases remonstrance and denunciation. His city and na- 
tion are imperiled. The honor of Jehovah is at stake. 
For Isaiah country is greater than party ; the cause is dearer 
than the humiliation of individuals arrayed against it. 
Isaiah now summons all his resources of faith and influ- 
ence to infuse his countrymen with confidence and cour- 
age. Animosities are forgotten. Only the integrity of 
the state and Jehovah's purposes are remembered in the 
dark hour when Jerusalem is besieged. 

This is true greatness. The great man cannot be 
insulted or humiliated. His soul is wrapped up in his 
cause. For it he endures everything. He does not dis- 
own his church because some member mistreats him. 
Because some servant of an institution or public move- 
ment betrays his trust, he does not forsake the enter- 
prise. Because self-seeking politicians or economists nar- 
rowly oppose ideas and methods of progress, he does 
not lose faith in the possibility of a better civilization, 
nor does he cease his efforts to usher in the better day. 
In the midst of the grossest materialism and social ostra- 
cism he can keep his faith and lift his voice. This is the 
greatness of the man whom God has summoned to follow 
the trail of righteousness and good will. 

Nations Are the Servants of God. — Nations even 
like Assyria are the instruments of God. A striking par- 
allel exists between Assyria and Germany. Both nations 
coveted empire. Both, for their selfish ends, were ready 
to crush small states. To regard either empire as the 
servant of God for the chastisement of worldliness and 
sin belongs only to men of vision and faith. Yet history, 
read by epochs, ministers to the faith that it is God who 
governs nations. Germany, like Assyria, struck savagely 
at weaker states, yet was overwhelmed in defeat. The 



ISAIAH AND THE ASSYEIAN INVASION 47 

war was God's way of enunciating that right is might. 
He has shown us, through our dreadful human blundering, 
that the destiny of any nation is indissolubly intertwined 
with the destinies of all; that civilization, in order not to 
perish, must be the common purpose and the common 
struggle of all nations. The nations of the earth con- 
stitute a family. Any departure from virtue and recti- 
tude is a menace and a disaster to all. Nothing less 
than the recognition of the familyhood of nations and 
races can make possible the peace and progress of hu- 
manity. One autocracy renders democracy insecure. One 
armed lust of empire sets up militarism throughout the 
world. One thief compels a whole community to lock 
its doors. This is the great lesson of God taught by the 
world war. Like Assyria, Germany taught the world a 
great lesson through vast suffering. Like Assyria, Ger- 
many, once the lesson was taught, was broken and hu- 
miliated. 

Intebbogation Points 

1. Why did Isaiah oppose the policy which made Judah a 
vassal of Assyria? 

2. What was the platform of the Egyptian party in Jeru- 
salem? 

3. Why did Isaiah oppose their policy? 

4. Why did Isaiah regard Assyria as the servant of Je- 
hovah? 

5. What were the sins of Judah denounced by Isaiah? 

6. What service did religion render politics through Isaiah? 

7. What did the prophet mean by saying of certain leaders 
in Jerusalem that they "have not asked at my [Jehovah - ^] 
mouth"? (Isaiah 30. 2.) 

8. In his early sermons Isaiah apparently contemplated the 
destruction of Jerusalem. When and why did he change his 
views? 

9. What elements of greatness are discoverable in Isaiah? 

10. What principles of government and religion enunciated 
by Isaiah are applicable in our own times? 

Fob the Deeply Intebested Student 

The Religion of Israel to the Exile, Budde, pages 147-56. 
Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 148-80. 
Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 238-5.2. 
Article, "Isaiah," in Encyclopedia Biblica. 



CHAPTER Y 
ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 

It is said that "hope springs eternal in the human 
breast." Certain it is that out of the depths of oppres- 
sion and defeat there have sprung up the brightest Uto- 
pias. When men ceased locating their golden age in 
the past and began to peer into the future to behold 
their ideal social order, a turning point was reached in 
human affairs. Of all political idealizations the Jewish 
Messianic hope has been the most productive of good, 
for out of it sprang the Christian church and the Chris- 
tian conception of the kingdom of God. 

This Messianic hope of the Jews takes its first definite 
shape in the preaching of Isaiah. Although certain ex- 
pectations of his never were realized, he enunciated cer- 
tain principles that ever remained in varying propor- 
tions essentials in the Jewish dream of the ideal king- 
dom. 

Isaiah's Doctrine of a Faithful Remnant 



That Jehovah is a righteous and sovereign Deity is 
fundamental in all Isaiah's preaching. His call to the 
prophetic office was inaugurated by a vision of Jehovah's 
sovereign holiness. Such a Deity cannot tolerate un- 
righteousness among men. He will therefore punish Is- 
rael, a nation peculiarly his own, for its unrighteousness. 
This visitation, to purge the land of evil, in the earliest 
teaching of Isaiah (6. 11, 12) will result in the destruc- 
tion of the state. It will be impossible for the people 
to avert this scourging judgment by renewed devotion 
to superstitions and foreign religions (28. 15) or by po- 
litical arrangements with other nations (30. 1, 2; 31. 1). 
Read the strong words (28. 17-21) in which Isaiah de- 
clares that the purpose of Jehovah to vindicate his own 
righteousness by a purging judgment is unalterable. 

48 



ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 49 

Not long after Isaiah began his ministry, the extent of 
the terrible judgment of Jehovah was restricted in the 
thought of the prophet. He named his oldest son Shear- 
jashub, meaning "A remnant shall return." Wherever 
the boy appeared and was known he was a prediction of 
judgment and also of hope. This remnant was to be com- 
posed of those in Judah who turned from false religion 
and every form of social evil to imitate Jehovah's right- 
eousness. "He that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be 
called holy" (4. 3). This remnant evidently was re- 
garded by Isaiah as forming a very small group (6. 13; 
10. 22), but this small company of righteous men and 
women will become the stock of a new and glorious 
state. 

Assyria (10. 5) is Jehovah's instrument of punishment. 
Jerusalem will be besieged, and the city's slain will be so 
numerous that it will seem an altar of sacrifice upon which 
the citizens are being offered to atone for Judah's sins 
(29. 1-4). But in the midst of Assyria's triumph Jehovah 
will arrest the work of destruction. Jerusalem will not 
be taken (10. 12; 29. 7), but, on the contrary, will raise 
itself aloft again in proud triumph over all surrounding 
nations. It is at this hour of its punishment and de- 
liverance that the Messianic age will be ushered in. 

Contents of Isaian Messiantsm 

The Intervention of Jehovah. — The Messianic hope, 
first of all, was the belief that a divine order would 
emerge out of the disorder of the eighth-century life of the 
Hebrew states. Previous studies have shown the necessity 
of the monarchy to deliver the Hebrew tribes from the 
chaotic social and political life of the period of the judges. 
But the later history of the kingship did not fulfill all 
the hopes of those prophets who had championed the na- 
tionalistic program of the earlier sovereigns. Foreign 
alliances for trade and war produced conditions in which 
sharply contrasted social classes were formed in Israel 
and Judah. An age of greed, lust, and brutal selfishness, 



50 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

characteristic alike of prince and priest, was the curse 
of the two kingdoms in the eighth century. It was the 
mission of the eighth-century prophets to denounce the 
social disorders of their times. That the sins of Israel 
were fast leading the northern kingdom to destruction 
was the unswerving conviction of Amos. Hosea too looked 
for the destruction of the northern state, but he believed 
also that Jehovah's love would be able to find some way 
of reestablishment of the afflicted people. Hosea 2. 16-23 
presents the details of the prophet's hope of the better 
days to follow the purging judgment. Israel will enjoy 
her fruitful vineyards and fields in peace, the Baals will 
be worshiped no more, and the people, faithful and loyal 
to Jehovah, will rejoice in their knowledge of his right- 
eousness and lovingkindness. Since Hosea keenly felt the 
failure of Israel's kingship (13. 11), it is not likely that 
he expected the kingship to continue in the new social 
order. The new age was in some measure to be a return 
to the earliest years of the nation's history (2. 23). 

Isaiah differs from Hosea in the starting point of his 
age of felicity. Hosea expected the overthrow of Israel, 
a return to the wilderness, and a new entrance into the 
land. Isaiah, as we have seen, insisted that the judgment 
would not overwhelm Jerusalem, and that the "return" 
was not geographical but ethical. Jehovah's fiery judg- 
ment would awaken the dull conscience of Judah's leaders, 
and they would inaugurate the better day. 

According to Isaiah, Jehovah alone inaugurates the new 
age. The Assyrian will be checked in his victorious ca- 
reer not by the armies of Egypt or by Judah or by a 
confederation of states; "the sword, not of men, shall 
devour him" (31. 8). "Through the voice of Jehovah 
shall the Assyrian be dismayed" (30. 31). There came 
to pass a strange fulfillment of this prediction. Jerusa- 
lem, as we have seen, outweathered the Assyrian storm 
not alone because of strong walls, but because of some 
circumstance with which Judah had nothing to do. In 
some mysterious fashion Sennacherib was robbed of the 
capture of Jerusalem and was forced to retreat from 



ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 51 

Palestine. Later studies will reveal some disastrous con- 
sequences from this teaching. But at the time it was 
uttered it infused that faith into Isaiah's countrymen which 
alone saved them from surrendering to the Assyrian. 

The Personal Rule of Jehovah in Jerusalem. — Eead 
attentively 2. 1-4 and note that it is Jehovah's house 
which is to be exalted. This is not merely the Temple. 
It is, rather, the purified city, the righteousness of whose 
inhabitants fits them to be the teachers of the world. The 
actual instruction would fall to king, judge, and priest. 
But Jehovah is the source of the new order. Above priest 
and king he is the Euler of the Messianic empire; he is 
the Overlord of the nations. Previous chapters make clear 
this fundamental Isaian truth of Jehovah's sover- 
eignty. The student may read 30. 27-33, which so 
strongly declares that Jehovah's judgment is administered 
by himself alone. Note especially verse 31. This same 
conviction of Jehovah's personal rule, especially as the 
ground of the expected righteous social order, is found 
in 28. 14-22. Observe that the present social order is 
built on a foundation of lies and superstitions (verse 15) ; 
but Jehovah will sweep aside such false supports of the 
state and lay, instead, "in Zion ... a tried stone, a 
precious corner stone," which will provide an immovable 
foundation. This foundation is righteousness and jus- 
tice. 

Isaiah certainly did not expect the monarchy to be set 
aside. The Judsean kingship, despite its evils, for Isaiah 
was an established factor in society. He was quite 
aware that the princes (3. 14) were the source of many 
of the ills of the state ; but even in the midst of the great- 
est calamities, when prophet, diviner, judge, and military 
leader, the stay and staff of the city, have been swept 
away, the state is not without its King (3. 1-4). With 
this feeling for the kingship it was inevitable that Isaiah 
should look for a line of sovereigns whose abilities and 
virtues should fit them to be the leaders of the new 
social order. This expectation is the starting point of 
prophecies of the Messiah. 



52 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

The Messianic King. — Read 9. 1-7. Observe that the 
inauguration of the new order of light and joy devolves 
upon a Judaean king. It is Jehovah, indeed, who crushes 
the Assyrian oppressor (verse 4), but the deliverance is 
to be followed by the rule of a prince who will secure 
for his people the expected felicities of the new age. The 
names applied to this new king — or line of kings — are 
worthy of careful scrutiny, since they throw light upon 
the nature of the kingdom. Four striking characteriza- 
tions of the new sovereign are given: he is a wonder of 
a counselor, a god of a warrior, a father forever, a prince 
of peace. The new king is endowed with extraordinary 
statesmanship, he fights the battles of his people like a 
divine warrior, his fatherly care of his people is unceas- 
ing, and he secures for his subjects the blessings of peace. 
Verse H declares the belief that this Davidic line of ex- 
traordinary kings shall long endure, and that they shall 
secure their kingdom through justice and righteousness. 
If this divinely endowed race of kings seems improbable, 
let it be remembered that "the zeal of Jehovah of hosts 
will perform this." 

Examine 11. 1-9. Point out the additional details in 
this picture of the Messianic prince. What endowment 
fits him for rulership in the approaching age ? Note care- 
fully what elements of character are given the Messiah 
by Jehovah. Observe too that the king is the judge of 
his people. What is the meaning of the expression "he 
shall not judge after the sight of his eyes"? What prin- 
ciples govern his administration of the laws? The stu- 
dent will delight in the idyllic portrayal of the peaceful- 
ness of the expected age found in verses 6-9. Observe the 
recurring note of Isaianic thought that ignorance of Je- 
hovah is the source of Judah's ills, and that when the 
earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah, a universal 
reign of peace will be inaugurated among men. The pas- 
sages 32. 1-5, 16-20 also are Messianic oracles. They have 
been considered above, but the student should observe 
that a Messianic king is responsible for the well-being of 
the state. 



ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 53 

The Social Content of Isaiah's Messianism. — The 

land itself will respond with increased fertility to the new 
happiness of the people. Examine 4. 2; 29. 17; and 32. 
15, 20 and state the measure of the prophet's expectation 
that the soil of Palestine will be more richly endowed in 
the Messianic age. 

There is to be a moral reorganization of life. The 
purging judgment clears the nation of moral evil (1. 25), 
and Jerusalem becomes the city of righteousness (1. 26). 
As Jehovah's city Jerusalem becomes preeminent among 
the nations of earth. What is Jerusalem's mission in this 
Messianic age ? See 2. 1-3. What great blessing is prom- 
ised in 2. 4? The chief characteristic of Judah's life, 
after the new day dawns, is justice and righteousness (9. 
7). The poor no longer are oppressed (29. 19), the 
tyranny of priest and prince over the weak ceases (29. 
20), violence is at an end (29. 21), the helpless and 
the lowly never lack for justice (11. 4), judges cease 
taking bribes and adjudicate the cause of the orphan 
and the widow (1. 23-26), the people dwell quietly and 
confidently in their possessions (11. 6-9). The people 
themselves are holy — that is, righteous (4. 3). In short, 
it is a new age of social justice rooted in a new sense of 
human brotherhood. v 

The new state is neither communistic nor democratic. 
Isaiah did not predict a socialistic state. Each man 
possesses his own fields, vineyards, and flocks. There are 
pronounced social classes — king, prince, judge, and priest 
— still exercising authority over the commoners, who have 
nothing to do with the choice of their rulers. Isaiah ex- 
pected all classes in Judah to be permeated by such a 
profound sense of Jehovah's righteousness that lust, greed, 
and love of ease on the part of the rulers, priests, and 
landowners would no longer curse the social order with 
selfish indulgence and oppression. There would be no 
embittered hearts among the poor. The cruel wrongs 
springing from the outrageous alienation engendered 
among men by wealth and power would cease in this new, 
intense consciousness of Jehovah's righteous rule in 



54 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

Judah. Princes, priests, and judges, not insensible to 
Jehovah's grace and kingdom purpose — manifested in 
the preservation of Jerusalem, his holy city — , would seek 
to carry out Jehovah's demands, which are, essentially, 
demands for social justice. As will be seen presently, 
the Messianic hope is religious: it visions new knowledge, 
trust, and loyalty on the part of man toward Jehovah. 
But Messianism in Isaiah finds its outward expression 
in a fraternal order, wherein the sense of brotherhood is 
strong enough to secure peace, justice, and good will 
among men. 

Worship in the New Age. — That which undermined 
the Jewish state was the people's forgetfulness of Jehovah 
manifested in the worship of other deities (17. 10). In 
the new era "men shall look unto their Maker" (17. 7). 
They will not seek spiritualistic mediums nor bow down 
to idols. Jerusalem will be the source of the religious 
instruction of surrounding nations (2. 3). The whole 
spirit of Isaiah's teaching indicates that he regarded the 
prophets, not the priests, as the true servants and spokes- 
men of Jehovah. Consequently, he must have expected 
that the religious leadership of the new age would be 
with those in whom the spirit of prophecy lived. 

Isaiah says very little about the forms of worship in 
the projected ideal state. His insistence upon righteous- 
ness would rule out the licentious features of worship 
at the local sanctuaries. It will be remembered that in 
Isaiah's day the people were still worshiping at. the vari- 
ous local shrines throughout the country. Worship was not 
yet concentrated at Jerusalem. The local high places con- 
tinued to be the scenes of the great annual religious feasts 
and of other family sacrifices. There is no evidence that 
Isaiah raised any objection to these local altars or that 
he distinctly contemplated their discontinuance in the 
golden age. But with his profound sense of the sover- 
eignty of Jehovah he could scarcely have tolerated the 
venerable altars set up by Solomon to foreign deities. 

Isaiah nowhere states that he regards the priesthood 
and the system of sacrifice as essentials in the new age. 



ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 55 

He certainly bitterly denounced the whole sacrificial sys- 
tem as it was carried on in his day (1. 11-15). While 
there is no direct evidence that he expected the sacrificial 
system to be swept away, because of the fact that he con- 
stantly regards the prophetic experience as the very soul 
of religion it is reasonable to suppose that he could con- 
template with satisfaction the disappearance of the whole 
sacrificial system. Since the "earth is to be full of the 
knowledge of Jehovah," and since the exercise of religion 
is primarily the practice of justice and righteousness, 
Isaiah may have looked for a displacement of the cultus 
by a spiritual democracy in which each individual would 
enjoy an unmediated fellowship with Jehovah. 

An Attempt to Eealize the Messianic Kingdom 

The signal deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians 
in 701 B. C. verified in a remarkable manner Isaiah's 
teaching of divine deliverance and the inviolability of 
Jehovah's city. Hezekiah and his court, sobered by the 
danger and the disastrous results of the Assyrian inva- 
sion, began to heed this man of God whose political poli- 
cies had not varied, and whose religious faith had not 
wavered even in the darkest hour of the nation's life. 
At last Hezekiah set himself to carry out some of the 
reforms upon which Isaiah insisted. 

Bead 2 Kings 18. 4 for the extent of this reformation 
of worship. That the reform was quite superficial is seen 
in the fact that the altars to alien deities erected by Solo- 
mon were unmolested. The ritual was not corrected. 
Certain country shrines were violated, and the bronze 
serpent was destroyed. The sacrifice offered to this ser- 
pent is a suggestive hint of the idolatrous practices against 
which Isaiah so strongly inveighed. Note that the author 
of the book of Kings believes that the idol had been long 
a part of Judah's worship. It is a mark of Isaiah's 
greatness that his religious program was too exalted for 
his times. A century needed to pass by before his visions 
were translated into the actual practices of any consider- 



56 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

able portion of his countrymen. There are elements in 
his dreams which still are dreams for the prophets of 
modern civilization. 

Summary 

The student should hold a clear conception of the terms 
"Messianism," "Messianic kingdom," and "Messiah." By 
"Messianism" is meant that strong belief of the Jewish 
people that Jehovah would deliver them from their ene- 
mies abroad and from the internal evils of their state and 
exalt them into a glorious commonwealth that should have 
rule over the nations. The term "Messianic kingdom" 
fixes more precisely the form of the state : it is, in political 
form, a monarchy. The Messiah is the nation's king, 
the anointed one, chosen and consecrated by Jehovah. 
While the Messianic hope frequently included a Messianic 
king, the Messiah is not the essential element of Mes- 
sianism. The determining feature of the Messianic hope 
is the divinely established deliverance and kingdom. 

It will be observed from the sections studied in this 
chapter how strongly the Messianic hope was a social ideal. 
This point cannot be overemphasized. If the student 
recalls the social disorders denounced by Amos, Hosea, 
and Isaiah, it will be clear that any vision of a better day 
would center in a demand for social justice and righteous- 
ness. The content given the Messianic hope by Isaiah 
should be well understood, for the Isaian concept is not 
final. Later thinkers incorporate new ideas. 

Foe Modern Holders of the Messianic Hope 

To know God, says Isaiah, is the solution of the people's 
ills. Do you believe this? Can any permanently satis- 
factory adjustment of present-day wrongs be made apart 
from religion? Can justice and righteousness be se- 
cured in the state unless they are felt supremely to 
be the demand of God? This is not a question to be dis- 
missed lightly; it is fundamental to all reform. 

Do you feel keenly that your religion demands from 



ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 57 

you justice, love, and righteousness in all your human 
relations? The religion that does not utter an unceasing 
protest against the ills of society and lift its undying cry 
for the better day is not a great religion : it does not bring 
man face to face with God. Unless worship is the glad 
reverence and trust with which the person who is keen 
to eliminate the wrongs so grievously cursing the com- 
munity draws near to fellowship with Him who, too, is 
laboring to bring in the perfect day, it is a mockery. 

The government of the world rests with the optimist. 
He who is convinced that "the best is yet to be" in every 
age will find the multitude his followers. There is a 
natural repulsion toward defeat. The soul covets free- 
dom, and progress is the road to liberty. No man who 
really believes in God can long remain disconcerted with 
the world's events. He cannot keep his faith in God and 
despair of civilization. Nations and races come and go, 
but ideals are deathless; and in the long run every glo- 
rious dream for humanity shall manifest itself in deeds 
and institutions. 

Do circumstances create the individual? Or does the 
individual mold his surroundings into finer forms? 
Measured by his own day, Isaiah does not seem to have 
accomplished much in changing the spirit and social prac- 
tice of his age. His predictions concerning the chastise- 
ment and rescue of Jerusalem were fulfilled. But the 
golden age did not follow. The dream of his heart did 
not come true. Tradition, custom, habits, ignorance — 
every form of social inertia — were against him. Is it, 
then, worth while for the dreamer to continue weaving 
his ideal? Shall the reformer tirelessly beat against the 
solid wall of ignorance, prejudice, and greed? What is 
the reward of prophesying and martyrdom ? This : 
Every bit of progress in the individual and society comes 
from the ceaseless beating of ideals against the bars of 
ancient things. It is the visioner of dawn who ever has 
fought the hosts of darkness. To change the world one 
need not have a great name; he needs only great pur- 
pose and great faith. 



58 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 



Taking Inventoby 

1. What advantage to mankind accrues from the belief that 
"the best is yet to be"? 

2. State those passages in the Bible which convey the idea 
that the happiest experience of men lies in the past. 

3. What is the meaning of the terms "Messiah" and "Mes- 
sianism"? 

4. What is Isaiah's doctrine of "the remnant"? 

5. What led him to put forth this doctrine? 

6. To what extent was this ideal realized? 

7. According to Isaiah, when and how was the Messianic 
age to be ushered in? 

8. What was Isaiah's conception of the Messiah? 

9. What changes in social conditions were to take place? 

10. To what extent were Isaiah's expectations concerning a 
new era realized? 

11. What resemblance is there between Jewish Messianism 
and other schemes of political idealism, such as Plato's Ideal 
Republic, Campanelli's City of the Sun, and Moore's Utopia? 

Material fob Additional Study 

Isaiah: His Life and Times, Driver, Chapter IX. 
Prophets of Israel, W. R. Smith, pages 356-64. 
The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, 
Chapter XV. 
Article, "Utopia," Encyclopedia Britannica. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 

The book of Micah contains not only written prophe- 
cies of Micah of Moresheth (a hill town of western Judah), 
a prophet who lived in the eighth century, but prob- 
ably also reflects the writings of other religious teachers 
of succeeding generations. Students have not yet gener- 
ally agreed upon the sections to be assigned to him who 
was the contemporary of Isaiah and who labored, in the 
spirit of this great prophetic age, to lift religion from 
unethical ritual into the vision of Jehovah's moral nature 
and, consequently, into the practice of social virtues. 
Although this uncertainty attaches to his message, he 
belongs worthily to the great group of prophets through 
whom the world first received its vision of ethical re- 
ligion. He was no mere imitator of Amos, Hosea, and 
Isaiah. His messages are quite like theirs, but he pos- 
sessed an independent soul and asserted vigorously and 
boldly his views of Judah's sins and faithlessness. Jere- 
miah 26. 18, 19 reveals that Micah was an influential 
factor in the political and religious life of the border years 
of the eighth and seventh centuries. 

Micah's prophecies indicate that he was old enough 
to appreciate at the time of its occurrence the disaster 
to the northern kingdom wrought by the destruction of 
Samaria in 721. His life was determined by his belief in 
a similar destruction of Jerusalem. He must have lived 
through the Assyrian invasion of 701. In such case, 
although no prophecies of a restored people are extant, like 
Isaiah he may have believed in a near Messianic age. 
Under the following topics are grouped the essential 
themes in the sermons of Micah: 

The Appkoach of Certain Destruction 
Bead the first chapter of Micah. Verses 2-7 are a 
' 59 



60 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

threat of certain punishment to fall upon the two He- 
brew kingdoms. Observe^that Jehovah's residence is his 
holy temple not in Jerusalem but in the heavens. When 
he draws near Samaria and Jerusalem in judgment, the 
very earth suffers. The capital of the northern state will 
be turned into a desolate field. It is the city, wealthy 
and licentious, which has spread the dreadful contagion 
of sin throughout the state. This prediction of Samaria's 
destruction was fulfilled in Sargon's capture of the city 
in 721 B. C. Like Isaiah, Micah regarded the devastat- 
ing and conquering Assyrian forces as the servant of 
Jehovah. 

Verses 8-16 describe the approach of the Assyrian army 
into Judah to the very gates of Jerusalem. Micah mourns 
this terrible destruction and calls upon Judah to put on 
the signs of humiliation and grief for her captive chil- 
dren. 



Seasons foe This Scourging Punishment 

After this chapter, expressing so confidently the de- 
struction of the two kingdoms, there follow two chapters 
denouncing the sins which have occasioned the downfall 
of the Hebrew states. The student should note carefully 
the nature of the sins condemned by Micah. Sin is al- 
ways some disruption of man's fellowship with men or 
with God. What spirit and deeds in Micah's day are 
breaking fraternalism in Judah? See 2. 1, 2. What 
penalty (2. 3, 4) is promised these covetous, oppressive 
landowners ? Note the appropriateness of the judgment to 
fall upon these ruthless land thieves. What protests do 
these wealthy oppressors of the poor make to Micah's 
threat of punishment? The text of verses 6 and 7 is un- 
certain, but the following cannot be far from the meaning : 

"Do not preach upon such subjects: 
Destruction cannot come upon Jehovah's people. 
Is Jehovah impatient with us? Will he cast us off? 
Cow h§ mean aught but good to his people Israel?" 



THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 61 

The same folly is expressed by a clearer text in 3. 11, 
which we prefer to render: 

"Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? 
No evil shall come upon us." 

Although Amos and Hosea had done their best to break 
down this unwarrantable folly of believing that the ancient 
covenant bound Jehovah to protect his people in every 
event, and although their history gave little basis for such 
belief, the people still clung to this kinship conception of 
man and Deity. The covenant relation was not yet ethi- 
cized. 

The answer to this folly is Jehovah's protest to the 
rich (2. 8, 9) : 

"You have become my peaceful people's enemy; 

You strip the clothing, as in wartime, from your quiet 
neighbors; 

The women of my people you drive out from their blessed 
homes; 

From their young children you take away my glory for- 
ever." 

It is not clear whether the last line means that the chil- 
dren are sold into slavery, or the fathers of children. In 
the former case the children would be orphans (2 Kings 
4. 1). All this is a horrible picture of the social corrup- 
tion that an unchecked greed for wealth ever introduces 
into society. Verse 11 adds a final touch to the infamy 
of Judah's social life. Micah, recognizing that his mes- 
sage is unacceptable to the unscrupulous rich of his day, 
declares that the prophet who would preach on wine and 
glorify drunkenness would receive a handsome salary and 
get it paid regularly. 

Chapter 3 becomes more bitter in the denunciation of 
the greed and covetousness that oppress and rob the poor. 
Princes, says Micah, ought to be the guardians of social 
justice; on the contrary, they love evil. Verses 2 and 3 
describe in the terms of a cannibal feast the hardships 



62 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

that wealthy men inflict upon the poor. But there is a 
day of judgment for these hard-hearted scoundrels. In 
that day of reparation they will cry for mercy, but Je- 
hovah's face will be hidden from them. 

Micah rightfully pours out his scorn upon the profes- 
sional prophets who have failed to insist upon economic 
justice. They are the truckling servants of unscrupulous 
and greedy merchants, landowners, and princes who feed 
them. They cry, "Peace" when the whole state groans 
with the burdens of intolerable injustice. Micah can 
think of no more dire calamity for a prophet than for 
visions from Jehovah to fail him. Yet this is their pun- 
ishment. In their hour of indecision and deepest per- 
plexity nothing but silence and darkness will meet them. 
There will be no answer from Jehovah. 

Verses 9-12 are a summary of Judah's sins. Princes 
pervert the courts and destroy the hope of justice. Men 
of wealth beautify Jerusalem by the pauperization of 
labor. Priests, custodians of traditional law and custom, 
sell their knowledge and grow rich upon the necessities 
of their victims. Prophets, instead of declaring Jehovah's 
purposes, preach a gospel pleasing to the dominant social 
classes. 

For these sins, sins of social anarchy, Jerusalem will 
be destroyed. "Is not Jehovah with us?" these greedy 
and antisocial leaders reply to the true prophets who 
threaten them in the name of Jehovah with judgment and 
punishment. But Micah responds in sterner tones, 
"Zion for your sake shall be plowed as a field." 

Miscellaneous Prophecies of the Book of Micah. — 
The prophecies so far studied quite generally have been 
assigned to Micah, whose ministry paralleled the later life 
of Isaiah. Certain oracles in the remaining chapters, the 
authorship of which is debatable, are here examined, since 
they are similar in tenor to the accepted teaching in chap- 
ters 1 to 3 or with previously expressed prophetic thought : 

(a) Micah 6. 1-8. — Judah's false conception of Jeho- 
vah's character and, consequently, of the worship that is 
acceptable to him. As in Isaiah 1. 2 Jehovah summons 



THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 63 

heaven and earth to witness his accusation against his 
people. The spirit of love and pleading suggests the ten- 
derness of Hosea. Micah cannot understand the defec- 
tion of Judah. Like Hosea he feels that the course of 
Israel's history — a history of redemption — ought to have 
produced more spiritual views of Jehovah's character and 
purposes. The nation should have learned ere this that 
a ritual of animal sacrifice, however extravagantly and 
faithfully performed, springs from an inadequate knowl- 
edge of Jehovah's nature. Blood splashed upon a stone, 
the burning fat of the choicest calf, or even a human sacri- 
fice, believed to be an efficacious way to win the favor of 
God, can arise only among an unreflecting people. Be- 
neath all the licentious, superstitious worship and the 
social crimes lies a primitive, unethical, and inadequate 
conception of Deity. Hosea and Isaiah, as we have seen, 
bitterly complain of this ignorance of Jehovah. There is 
no knowledge of God in the land, affirmed Hosea (4. 1), 
and the destruction of Israel is due to this false conception 
of their national deity (4. 6; 5. 13). Isaiah is equally ex- 
plicit (1. 3), and in his picture of the ideal age (11. 9) 
it is a fundamental that "the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of Jehovah." Verse 8 is a beautiful summary 
of the eighth-century prophetic ideal of religion. It con- 
templates a religion without sacrifice of any kind. It lifts 
religion out of a butcher shop into a fraternal life of good 
will expressed in the home, the fields, the markets, the 
courts of justice, and the executive mansion. This verse 
should be treasured in memory. It makes a splendid 
motto for the home or business office. 

(b) Micah 6. 9-16. — An arraignment of dishonest 
business practices and an assurance of punishing judg- 
ment. The text is frequently corrupt, but the general 
meaning may be understood. Scant measures and false 
weights, wealth gotten by lies and theft, are an abomina- 
tion to Jehovah. Therefore, riches so accumulated shall 
vanish. The invader will snatch them away. The owner 
of fields, olive orchards, and vineyards who has amassed 
competence by the high-handed, bloody methods of Ahab 



64 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

shall not enjoy the fruits of his evil deeds. His wealth 
shall be swept away. 

(c) Chapter 7. 1-6 perhaps belongs near the close of 
Micah's life. If it is a genuine oracle of this prophet 
it reflects the terrible reaction under Manasseh, the son of 
Hezekiah (see next chapter). It is a dark picture. The 
first verse indicates Micah's isolation: His ideal of re- 
ligion and the social order is ignored by all. The state 
is torn asunder by fratricidal suspicion and crime. High- 
handed greed and cruelty pursue their anarchic war un- 
checked. The righteous have been silenced by fear 
or death. The courts are the agents of crime. The state 
topples to its ruin. 

Micah and the Messianic Hope. — There is little Mes- 
sianic hope in Micah. Like Isaiah he began with denun- 
ciation of Judah's sins ; unlike Isaiah he felt the full force 
of the Assyrian invasions of 711 and 701. He lived in 
a country town and felt more keenly the savage ravages of 
the troops of Sennacherib. With sixty Judaean towns 
captured, the whole countryside devastated, and Jerusa- 
lem beleaguered, there was little expectation that the cap- 
ital eventually would be spared. Like Isaiah he realized 
the fullest extent of the rapacity, greed, and murderous 
intent of the wealthy nobles. These nobles dwelt in the 
city, and Micah could conceive nothing less than the city's 
destruction as suitable reward for their crimes. Chap- 
ter 3. 12 : 

"Therefore, on account of your doings, 
Like a field shall Zion he plowed; 
Jerusalem shall be a heap of ruins, 
And the Temple-mount a wooded hill" 

Chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Micah contain Messianic 
material; but it is of such a nature that it seems unlikely 
that it was written by the Micah studied above. Like 
Amos with regard to Israel, Micah undoubtedly believed 
that nothing less than the overthrow of the Judsean state 
could correct its evils. Like Hosea, if he did conceive of 
a deliverance, it was such a vague hope (4. 10) that it 



THE MESSAGE OP MICAH 65 

did not win a significant place in his utterances. Even 
his pessimism turns out optimism. Jehovah is so righteous 
that Judah, if she cannot practice righteousness, must be 
destroyed. It is better to have a righteous world or none 
at all. 

SUMMAEY 

The personal history of Micah, like that of his prede- 
cessors, is a coloring element in his prophecy. We never 
view life wholly apart from the context of our own 
lives. Our theories spring out of our environment. Which 
one of Micah's three great predecessors most resembles 
him in personal history and prophetical outlook? Which 
of these four leaders are known to have been married, and 
what did married life contribute to their training and 
ministry ? 

We cannot remind ourselves too often of this prophetic 
ideal of religion. First of all, the religion that is destined 
to endure is vision of the ethical life of God. This was 
the starting point of each of these men and the supreme 
fundamental in their thought of deity. It is this insight 
of divine nature, conviction, and faith, so far above the 
customary belief of their day, which sets them so sharply 
against their contemporaries. From this contemplation 
of Jehovah they came back to the actual life of the times 
with the demand that the social order should reflect the 
lofty nature of God. In two ways the social order was not 
a response to an ethical Deity. Worship centered in super- 
stitious rites — sorcery and divination — and in a ritual of 
idols, lust, and animal sacrifice. Such religion made no 
demands upon the civil, political, and economic relation- 
ships of life. When justice, righteousness, and love be- 
come the supreme elements in man's concept of deity, 
there arises at once the demand in the person who 
would enter into fellowship with his divine Overlord to 
reproduce like character in himself. Nor can ethical 
religion rest in the individual's just, righteous, and loving 
attitude toward God. Immediately he is compelled to 
treat his fellows with the same spirit and motives. A 



66 THE KELIGIOtf OF JUDAH 

just person is just in all his relationships, or his justice 
ceases altogether. It is this glorious insight by the 
prophets into the nature of God and of the individual's 
relation to him and their compelling demand for a social 
order responsive to the divine character which constitute 
the fadeless splendor of the prophetic ideal of life. 

Micah may not seem to have contributed much to this 
ideal. But he reenforces the ideal from the life of a coun- 
tryman of Isaiah's day. He is a fearless spokesman of 
his conceptions of truth. He cared more for righteousness 
than for the treasured institutions of his country. He 
lives in that immortal group of eighth-century Hebrew 
leaders to whom the world never will cease to be indebted. 

Corner Stones eor Spiritual Temples 

Would you test your faith in God? Attack some in- 
iquitous custom, habit, business, or institution that yields 
financial profit to its promoters. The preaching directed 
against the source of a man's income ever is bitterly 
assailed. Savonarola was hanged by the business inter- 
ests he condemned. Paul was mobbed at Ephesus because 
the silversmith's trade was threatened. Jesus was cruci- 
fied because his teaching was undermining the Jewish 
hierarchy. Gambling, the saloon, prostitution, the licen- 
tious theater, curse society because they pay dividends. 
Vice lives because it enriches its promoters. The nation 
wars because it supposes that victory in the long run con- 
duces to prosperity. Have Micah's heroism to denounce 
these profit-yielding evils. Be not afraid of iniquitous 
wealth. 

An institution that lives on injustice has no claim upon 
a patriot. No true lover of his country will enlist in a 
war of conquest. A real patriot would rather see his 
country perish than live by injustice and greed. Wealth 
secured by pillage never enriches a man or a people. Let 
us learn to be poor if wealth can be secured only through 
dishonor; let us be content to remain unknown if fame 
has to be won by the betrayal of our finest selves; let us 



THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 67 

be willing to die if life is to be preserved through disloyalty 
to God. 

Do not think that God is obligated to do great things 
for you. Eeligion is fellowship, and any betrayal of 
Christ's ideals in you alienates you from fellowship with 
God. There is no redemption in broken fellowship. 
Whatever evil there is in you must be thrust out of your 
life. Then, with yearning heart to know God's love, you 
place an obligation upon his love and righteousness which 
issues in the drawing of yourself unto his own great Soul. 

In the midst of the antagonisms and disorders of his 
day Micah was conscious of deep power (3. 8). He saw 
so clearly into the purposes of Jehovah that he knew 
the ultimate triumph of his ideal. That consciousness of 
sure victory was the source of his power. You too may 
move serene and sure in the midst of life's confusions. Be 
filled with a passion for love and justice and go forth to 
champion these causes, and you fight on the side of vic- 
tory. This universe is backed by God, and God will pre- 
serve him who struggles in behalf of the eternal verities. 

Are You Acquainted With Micah? 

1. What dates fairly indicate the periods of the public min- 
istry of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah respectively? 

2. What is known of the personal life of Micah? 

3. What sins did Micah most strongly condemn? 

4. In what sins do cities usually specialize? 

5. What accusation did Micah bring against the prophets? 

6. With what wrongs did he charge the priests? 

7. What was Micah's attitude toward the sacrificial system? 

8. Find the verse in the book of Micah which sums up the 
religious teaching of the eighth-century prophets. 

9. What was Micah's thought concerning the Messianic king- 
dom? 

10. State the resemblances and differences in the teaching 
of Micah and Isaiah. 

11. Do you find any parallels with Micah's descriptions in 
economic conditions to-day? 

12. What help does Micah offer in the solution of our modern 
economic difficulties? 

Fob Further Study 
Article, "Micah," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 



68 THE RELIGION OP JUDAH 

The Prophets of Israel, W. R. Smith, pages 287-94. 

History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McFadyen, Volume 
II, Book VII, Chapter VI. A careful and illuminating survey 
of the social conditions that led to the overthrow of Samaria 
and the destruction of Jerusalem. 



CHAPTEK VII 

THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 

The precise date when Hezekiah's long reign ended is 
in doubt. It may have been as late as 686 B. C. The exact 
date of Isaiah's death is unknown. It is quite probable 
that he did not live long after the Assyrian retreat in 701 
so remarkably confirmed his faith in the indestructibility 
of Jerusalem. We have seen that Micah, a younger con- 
temporary of Isaiah, had no such hopes of Jerusalem's 
inviolability as had Isaiah and that he lived to experience 
something of the bitter reaction under Manasseh. The 
present chapter is a study of the sad conditions under 
Manasseh, which stirred the disciples of the eighth-cen- 
tury prophets to undertake a reform of worship in the 
reign of Josiah. 

The Reign of Manasseh 

Manasseh came to the throne of Judah probably in 686 
and reigned until 641. The deliverance of Jerusalem 
from sack in the reign of Hezekiah did not free Judah 
from Assyrian vassalage. The reign of Manasseh coin- 
cides with the period of greatest domination of Assyria in 
the west. Esarhaddon (680-668) led his troops to the 
conquest of Egypt, and the Assyrian suzerainty was main- 
tained through much of the rule of Ashur-bani-pal (668- 
626). Both these princes maintained Syria and Pales- 
tine in vassalage, and the imperial records of their reign 
mention Manasseh among their tributary kings. Their 
annual tribute undoubtedly was borne by Judseans to 
Nineveh, and Judaean soldiers were compelled to march 
with their Assyrian masters in the Egyptian campaigns. 
Several Palestinian towns were occupied by Assyrian gov- 
ernors and troops. In the excavations at Gezer two clay 
tablets, dated 649 and 647 respectively, dealing with the 

69 



70 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

sale of an estate and the transfer of a field repeal the 
fact that while Assyrians, Egyptians, and Hebrews were 
living in this ancient city, the official language was As- 
syrian. 1 These instances of Assyrian dominion in Pales- 
tine inadequately suggest the influence which this mighty 
empire under its greatest kings exercised over the small, 
weak Judasan state. Manasseh's long reign was peaceful 
for the sole reason that he attempted no rebellion and 
faithfully paid the Assyrian tribute. 

This political situation enables us to understand the 
religious condition x of these years. Isaiah's predicted 
golden age had not come. The judgment had not fallen 
upon Assyria. On the contrary, that nation's hold upon 
the west was greater than ever. Isaiah and his disciples 
were discredited before the nation. The court, probably 
expressing the views of the large majority of the nation, 
turned with new zeal to the cultus that the eighth-cen- 
tury prophets had so insistently condemned. Eead 2 
Kings 21. 1-18 for the historian's account of the sins of 
Manasseh. With regard to worship Manasseh turned the 
development of religion backward in two particulars: 

(a) He gave a new impetus to the Babylonian worship 
of the luminaries of heaven. It is stated in 2 Kings 
21. 3 that Manasseh "worshipped all the host of heaven, 
and served them." Verse 5 adds, "He built altars for all the 
host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah." 
From 2 Kings 23. 4, 5 we learn that this astral cult had 
its various altar utensils and priests. Where were these 
altars located? See Jeremiah 19. 13; Zephaniah 1. 5; 
and 2 Kings 23. 5. Job 31. 26, 27 is a witness that this 
star worship continued for centuries. What details do 
these verses from Job add concerning the manner of 
worship of this star cult? Jeremiah 8. 2 indicates some- 
thing of the extent of this worship in Jerusalem. Deu- 
teronomy 4. 19 and 17. 3 express the horror in which 
this worship was held by the reformers of the seventh 
century. 



1 See Bible Side-Lights From the Mound of Gezer, Macalister, page 338. 



THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 71 

Another aspect of this worship of the heavenly bodies 
is found in 2 Kings 23. 11. These horses, white in color, 
were stabled within the Temple precincts near one of the 
entrances of the Temple. They were quite likely intro- 
duced by Manasseh. The horses were not sacrificial ani- 
mals. Harnessed to the chariots, they were driven in 
procession toward the east at the rising of the sun. Primi- 
tive people frequently have accounted for the sun's move- 
ments by supposing that he was a god riding in his 
chariot. The savage supposes that he can cause changes 
in the natural world by some imitative act which mag- 
ically causes the natural phenomenon. The horses and 
chariots of the sun undoubtedly first were used by primi- 
tive Semitic people, who supposed that the harnessing of 
the horses at dawn and the driving of the chariot thereby 
compelled the sun god to awaken from his sleep and set 
forth in his chariot to bless the world with light and 
warmth. 

The worship of the heavenly bodies assumed another 
form, which evidently was quite popular. Eead Jeremiah 
7. 18; 44. 15-30. "The queen of heaven" quite probably 
was the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, who was identified 
in the eighth and seventh centuries with the planet Venus. 
In the Babylonian texts of this period Ishtar is called 
"Ishtar of the Stars," "Queen of the Stars," "Queen of 
Heaven," and other similar titles. The references in Jere- 
miah show that the worship essentially was a woman's 
cult, that cakes of a special kind were made and burned 
on the altars of the goddess, and that the offering was 
accompanied by libations and was performed in various 
cities as well as in the streets of Jerusalem. 

(b) All this display of Babylonian worship gave a new 
impulse to old Canaanitish cults, which, although in some 
measure repressed by Hezekiah, had characterized He- 
brew worship since the earliest centuries in Palestine. 
Study again 2 Kings 21. 1-18 for the details of this re- 
vival of Canaanitish practices. Observe that Manasseh 
built again the high places destroyed by Hezekiah, reared 
altars for Baal, set up an asherah within the Temple, 



72 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

practiced augury, used enchantments, recognized me- 
diums, introduced sacred prostitutes into the Temple (2 
Kings 23. 7), and offered human sacrifice. Baal was the 
common Semitic name for deity. There were innumer- 
able Baals. Each high place had its Baal. When the 
Hebrews first entered Palestine, the worship of the Baals 
was taken up and carried on side by side with the worship 
of Jehovah. In the course of time the name of Jehovah 
was substituted for the various Baals. The eighth-cen- 
tury prophets denounced this worship, although in the 
name of Jehovah, as heathenism. It is probable that the 
words "he reared up altars for Baal" means that the old 
ritual, essentially a Baal ritual, was encouraged at the 
various high places. The asherah was a wooden post, 
sometimes carved (1 Kings 15. 13), and perhaps occa- 
sionally draped (2 Kings 23. 7). Its use at the sanc- 
tuary is disputed. The sacrifice of the first-born child 
seems to have been widely prevalent. "Over the whole 
area of the high place the earth was discovered to be a 
regular cemetery, in which the skeletons of young infants 
were buried. These infants never were more than a week 
old. They were deposited in large jars, and with them 
were placed smaller jars, possibly for food for use of the 
little victim in the other world. Two at least of the skele- 
tons showed marks of fire. We have here evidence of 
the widespread custom of devoting the first-born; a part 
of the practice whereby the first fruits of man, of beast, 
and the field were sacred to the divinity ,' n 

This introduction of Assyrian worship and revival of 
Canaanitish practices did not take place unchallenged by 
those citizens more loyal to Jehovah and those who had 
learned from the prophets something of the spiritual and 
ethical character of deity. Manasseh stamped out all 
open opposition by wholesale murder (2 Kings 21. 16) 
and forced by his cruelties those who cherished other 
beliefs to hold them secretly. He did not of course 
crush all worship of Jehovah. Sacrifices to the national 



1 Bible Side-Lights From the Mound o/Gezer, Macalister, page 73. 



THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 73 

Deity still continued, but they were neglected and mini- 
mized by this revival of heathenism. 

The Reign of Josiah 

(a) Manasseh's long reign ended in 641. His son Am- 
nion ruled for two years. Josiah, the son of Ammon, 
came to the throne in 639 and held the scepter of Judah 
until 608. Josiah's elevation to the throne apparently 
ended the open persecution of the prophetical party, but 
the worship established under Manasseh continued un- 
changed for a period of eighteen years. 

The earlier prophecies of Jeremiah and the ministry 
of Zephaniah belong to this first half of Josiah's reign. 
Read Zephaniah 1. 4-6, 8, 9 for hints of the Assyrian and 
Canaanitish worship studied above. See also Zephaniah 
3. 1-4 for the general corruption of the state. The athe- 
ism regarding their national Deity is expressed in 1. 12. 
Zephaniah, lite his predecessors, prophesies an overwhelm- 
ing judgment. This prophet, especially like Amos, pro- 
claims a "day of Jehovah," and for him, too, it is a day 
of judgment. Note especially 1. 15-18. Like Isaiah, 
Zephaniah cherished the Messianic hope. Read 3. 11-17. 
After the judgment will dawn a new age, in which there 
shall be no iniquity, no lies; but Jehovah will dwell in 
the midst of the restored community, the King of Israel. 

Read Jeremiah 1. 16; 2. 11-37; chapters 3 to 5. These 
sections are additional testimony to the deplorable re- 
ligious and social conditions existing through the reigns 
of Manasseh and Ammon and also down to 621 in the 
reign of Josiah. 

(b) In the year 621 there occurred an event that 
changed the course of Judah's religious history. The ac- 
count is found in 2 Kings 22. 3-20. 

Note the mission of Shaphan. After the business of 
the repairs was finished, what new matter was broached 
by Hilkiah? What was done immediately by Shaphan? 
What report did he make to Josiah? What effect did the 
reading of the book produce in the king? What were 
the king's first orders? Note that the book was a "book 



74 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

of the law" and that it had been found by Hilkiah in the 
Temple. Did the king question its genuineness? What 
caused the king's consternation? In what manner did 
the king's servants "inquire of Jehovah"? What was the 
answer ? 

For the inauguration of the reform study 2 Kings 23. 
1-3. What was the king's first measure ? What solemn cov- 
enant was made by Josiah? What position was taken 
by the people with reference to the proposed reform ? Ex- 
amine attentively 2 Kings 23. 4-15 for the details of the 
reformation. Observe that they consisted in (1) a purg- 
ing of the Temple of the Assyrian and Canaanitish wor- 
ship, (2) the suppression of the local sanctuaries scat- 
tered throughout the kingdom, and (3) the destruction 
of the sanctuaries erected by Solomon to the gods of his 
various foreign wives. Josiah, following the requirements 
of the newly discovered law book, inaugurated a change in 
the celebration of the ancient Passover festival. Eead 
2 Kings 23. 21. What other reforms were put through? 
(2 Kings 23. 24). What else is known of Josiah? (2 
Kings 23. 29, 30). How does this event correspond with 
2 Kings 22. 20 ? 

SUMMAKY 

It comes with a surprise and almost with a shock that 
the ethical interpretation of religion so impressively pro- 
claimed by Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah penetrated 
so little the worship of their times. The signal deliv- 
erance of Jerusalem, accepted in 701 by Hezekiah and his 
court as a mark of Jehovah's favor and power, failed to 
inculcate loyalty to him. The stress of economic cir- 
cumstances dislodged Jehovah from his supreme place in 
the life of his people. Assyrian overlordship induced a 
time-serving court to imitate the fashions, customs, and 
worship of the nations that had become Judah's master. 
Zephaniah 1. 8, 9 indicates how deeply Assyrian influences 
permeated Judaean society. Foreign customs were intro- 
duced, and styles of dress were imitated. This belief that 
the worship of Assyrian gods conduced to national pros- 



THE DEUTEKONOMIC EEFOEM 75 

perity was so deeply rooted in Judah that the reform 
under Josiah did not permanently eradicate it. It is 
probable that the Tammuz worship (Ezekiel 8. 14) was 
introduced under Manasseh and, after being suppressed 
for a time, again was practiced openly within the pre- 
cincts of the Temple. Sun worship too had revived (Eze- 
kiel 8. 16), and Ezekiel throws light upon the manner 
in which it was performed. Even the destruction of 
Jerusalem did not eliminate these cults from Hebrew 
life. An assembly of men and women, fugitives from 
Jerusalem in Egypt, openly declared to Jeremiah that they 
would have none of his Jehovah worship (Jeremiah 44. 
15-19) ; that all the calamities of the downfall of the 
southern kingdom were due to their failure to continue 
the worship of the queen of heaven, which had been so 
faithfully performed in the days of Manasseh and Josiah 
by their fathers, kings, and princes in the cities of Judah 
and the streets of Jerusalem. 

Yet the reform under Josiah was no insignificant ex- 
pression of Hebrew religious life. It was, as the next 
chapter will show, a splendid triumph of prophetical re- 
ligion. Without this sudden recall to Jehovah worship 
and to a more spiritual and ethical interpretation of his 
will the religion of the Hebrews would have been sub- 
merged by the cults of their conquerors. It is a splendid 
testimony to the clearness and the strength of the 
prophetic vision of Jehovah that it withstood the Assyrian 
influence under Manasseh, lifted its burning protest under 
Josiah, and held aloft under succeeding kings through 
the tragical years of the nation's downfall and exile its 
demands for the sole worship of Jehovah, expressed in 
humble devotion to him and in justice and righteousness 
among men. 

In rereading the sections of the books of Samuel and 
Kings and the prophetic sermons studied previously it 
will be seen that hitherto there had been little or no ap- 
peal to codes of law. The sins of Israel and Judah inter- 
preted by the prophets were not transgressions of well- 
known law codes: they were violations of thoroughly un- 



76 th:e keligion of judah 

derstood principles of justice and humanity. Previous to 
Josiah's reform there was of course a gradually enlarging 
body of religious and civil law. These laws were, in the 
first place, the decisions of the priest at the various sanc- 
tuaries. Under the monarchy, at least in the eighth cen- 
tury, there were local judges regarded as representatives 
of the king. Civil and religious law in the Hebrew state 
were not clearly distinguished, and the priest and judge 
frequently overlapped jurisdictions. The point here made 
is that Josiah's changes in the religious life of the state 
were promulgated by an appeal to a code of law, and that 
such an appeal is an entirely new departure in Hebrew 
history. 

CONFORMERS AND TRANSFORMERS 

Manasseh and Josiah are permanent types of charac- 
ter. Manasseh, yielding to Assyrian influence, made no 
permanent contribution to Hebrew civilization; Josiah, 
setting himself against the evils of his times, impressed 
his moral faith and heroism upon the world. The one 
was a conformer; the second was a transformer. We be- 
long to one or the other class. Conformers are played 
upon by their surroundings until their life is molded and 
their destiny is shaped by external forces. Conformers 
stone the prophets, adorn the sages with cap and bells, 
worship will-o'-the wisps, lift self-seekers to the throne, 
and follow charlatans, who trick them out of their lib- 
erty and live upon their toil. Conformers acquiesce in 
the petty and mean in human affairs. They are the prey 
of prejudice, gossip, rumors, and lies. Such men do not 
know why they are in the world. They never hear God 
calling them to help redeem the world; they would not 
think it worth redeeming if they did. 

The conformist is a putty man. If the world wears 
high-heeled shoes and red socks, he must wear high-heeled 
shoes and red socks. If it smokes, he must get him a box 
of cigarettes. If it owns a chariot of the sun or an auto- 
mobile, he must mortgage his house to ride fashionably. 
Conformists never bring in a minority report; they follow 



THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 77 

the crowd to the christening- of a child or the lynching of a 
murderer. Conformers never discover worlds, never orig- 
inate nations, never explore continents, never name the 
stars. They never started reformations, never advanced 
the cause of liberty, never freed a slave, never honored 
woman, never lifted a burden from a child. They never 
accepted a purer religion, never formulated a higher phil- 
osophy, never revealed a nobler science, never wrote 
world-poetry, never died for the truth. For them there 
are no problems, no paths to unseen goals, no angel visit- 
ants setting up ladders to heaven, no faint songs sound- 
ing in the dead of night from far spiritual cities, no tang 
and push of soul to be a knight-errant in the cause of 
truth. 

Conformers have eyes, but they are in the back of their 
heads; they have ears, but they are stuffed with cotton; 
they have noses, but they never smell the stench of civic 
unrighteousness; they have lips, but they are dumb with 
the apathy of sordid minds ; they have hands, but they are 
struck with moral paralysis; they have souls, but they are 
shrunken with fear, abased in sensuality, and imprisoned 
hopelessly in the fashions of the world. 

Transformers are a class of supermen. All that is es- 
sentially valuable in human achievement has been done by 
them. True creative work is theirs alone. They give new 
meanings and directions to human life. It is they who 
flash the ideal in awakening dawns across a slumbering 
world and arouse hope and victorious struggle in the 
despondent epochs of mankind. The transformer knows 
that he is supremely soul; he knows that the universe is 
fundamentally spiritual ; he know3 that he can go forth to 
live consciously with God. He treads the high places of 
the earth; he builds the habitations upon the hills; he 
lives with the stars ; he thinks in eternities ; he pitches his 
tent in the camping places of Almighty God. 

Transformers consider themselves masters of life. They 
are the shapers of events. They are potters, and the world 
is their clay. They know they are on earth not to have a 
good time but to run a great race, to finish a great task, 



78 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

to fight the good fight. Life for them is not an excursion, 
a picnic, a vacation, a picture show. They realize that 
life is never a gift but a conquest. They see that they 
win manhood and womanhood not in pursuit of a career 
but in surrendering themselves to a great cause. They 
know that the road to greatness crosses the summit of 
a Golgotha. They try not to save their lives but to lose 
them in a thousand ministries. They find peace not in 
banquets, not in touching gold, not in the flaming cup, 
not in passion's hot embrace; they know happiness in 
following afar the vision of a world redeemed from ignor- 
ance and sin and in losing themselves to this their chosen 
cause of God. 
Be a transformer. 

Infobmation Wanted 

1. What prediction of Isaiah's concerning political events 
remained unfulfilled? 

2. Why should Judah's vassalage to Assyria affect disas- 
trously Hebrew religious life? 

3. What is meant by star worship? To what extent did it 
obtain in Judah? Give some details of the manner in which 
such worship was carried on. 

4. What influences led to the resurgence of the Canaanitish 
worship of the Baals? What were the "high places"? De- 
scribe some features of this Canaanitish religion. 

5. What were the prophets doing in the reign of Manasseh? 

6. What religious practices of the reign of Manasseh and 
Josiah were condemned by Jeremiah? by Zephaniah? 

7. What social conditions were adversely criticized by these 
two prophets? 

8. Study closely and answer carefully all the questions 
raised above in the discussion of the law book found in the 
Temple. 

9. What is the unique thing in Josiah's reforms? 

10. State the differences in character between Manasseh and 
Josiah. 

11. How many transformers are there in your community? 

SlJPPLEMENTABY READINGS 

Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 254-76. 

Articles "Manasseh" and "Josiah," Dictionary of the Bible, 
Hastings. 

The Second Book of Kings, Farrar, Volume II, Chapters 
XXIX-XXXI, in "The Expositor's Bible." 



CHAPTER VIII 
DEUTERONOMIC PEOVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 

The preceding chapter discussed the discovery of a 
law book in the Temple of Hilkiah in the year 621 B. C. 
and the inauguration of this code as the law of the realm 
by a popular assembly. The reforms undertaken by Josiah 
in compliance with the new code also were noted. The 
student is aware of the uniqueness of this event. We have 
met no similar establishment of a body of law in our 
study of Hebrew life. The covenant made at Sinai at 
the threshold of the people's history, although it involved 
certain requirements of obedience and loyalty, did not 
include a wrought-out code. Our studies have made no 
reference to Hebrew law, and there have been but few 
notices of the administration of either civil or ecclesias- 
tical law. Therefore, the appearance of a written code 
solemnly adopted by the people is a unique event in He- 
brew life. 

This book of law, which was the basis of Josiah's re- 
forms, is now found in chapters 5 to 26 and 28, with few 
exceptions, of our present book of Deuteronomy. 

SUMMAEY OF EiGHTH-CeNTUKY PkOPHETISM 

Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah were practical mono- 
theists. The majority of their contemporaries believed in 
the reality of other gods. As Jehovah was the God of the 
Hebrews, so other nations had their deity or deities. It 
was expected that Jews who took up their residence in 
other lands should worship the gods of the people in whose 
midst they lived. Foreigners who settled in Palestine as 
a matter of course worshiped Jehovah. The great 
prophets were the first to claim universal sovereignty for 
Jehovah. Perhaps at first the claim was no more than 

79 



80 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

that Jehovah was superior to other gods; but presently 
the doctrine was advanced that he is God alone. Jehovah 
rules the nations. See Amos, chapters 1 and 2; Hosea 
12. 9 ; Isaiah 2. 12-22, and many other references in these 
prophetical writings. Jehovah supplants the Canaanitish 
deities as Lord of Palestine (Hosea 2. 8-13, 17-20). His 
original dwelling place was at Mount Horeb, but he 
finally, in the thought of the Hebrews, made Palestine 
his own land. 

Through the prophets, also, was made known Jehovah's 
moral character. The student will recall the stern de- 
mands for justice uttered by Amos in the name of Jeho- 
vah. Justice is Jehovah's supreme characteristic (3. 2; 
4. 1-3; 5. 14, 15, 21-23). Hosea added that Jehovah's 
justice is tempered by compassion; that he loves guilty 
Israel (2. 19, 20; 11. 1-4); that righteousness and good- 
ness are rooted in his nature (4. 1; 6. 4-6). Neither can 
one forget the inaugural vision of Isaiah, which planted 
so positively in him the conception of Jehovah's right- 
eousness. In the teaching and life of these prophets 
Jehovah was not a Deity exalted merely by power; he was 
to be worshiped and obeyed because of his matchless char- 
acter. He was the embodiment of those virtues which 
ever are necessary for fellowship between persons. 

Jehovah's supreme demands from men are moral de- 
mands. The student will recall the severe denunciations 
of the worship at the sanctuaries uttered by this group of 
prophets. They were not condemning the fact of sacrifice 
at the many high places but they did excoriate the unre- 
flective and licentious character of this worship. Examine 
Hosea 4. 17; 8. 4, 5; 13. 2; Isaiah 2. 18-20; 30. 22. 
Micah (1. 7) condemned the use of images. The spiritual 
Jehovah cannot be represented by material forms. 
The elaborate ritual and sacrifice accompanied by feast- 
ing and sensuality cannot bring man into right relation 
with Jehovah. These prophets were willing that the 
whole sacrificial system should be abandoned; but they 
were insistent that men should hear Jehovah directing 
them to that moral service which upbuilds the community. 



PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 81 

Religious Conceptions and Provisions in the Law 
Boob: of Josiah 

Jehovah Alone to Be Worshiped. — Read Deuteron- 
omy 6. 4-15 and 11. 13-21. Observe the impressive and 
beautiful words of this essential creed of Jewish religion 
to this day. "Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God is one 
Jehovah," the injunction begins; and then follows the 
admonition to love him whole-heartedly and to beware 
of having anything to do with other gods. There are 
many other passages of like import. The code is a con- 
tinual insistence that Jehovah alone is Israel's God. No 
other is to be worshiped; no other has had aught to do 
with Israel's history; no other can secure the nation's 
future glory. This only claim of Jehovah upon the wor- 
ship of Israel is set forth in stern demands: All those 
who worship or solicit others to worship any deity except 
Jehovah are to be put to death (12. 29 to 13. 18). 

The chief inducement of the immigrant Hebrews to 
worship other gods is well put in 12. 30. The Hebrews, 
in fact, did ask this very question : "How do these people 
of Canaan serve their gods?" and in the first years of 
their settlement in Palestine worshiped the local deities 
as well as their own Jehovah. In the course of time 
Canaanitish practices were so much assimilated by the 
Hebrews that practically the old Baal worship of Canaan 
was carried on in the numerous high places in the name 
of Jehovah. The prophetic reformers are now trying to 
eliminate the grosser features of this amalgamated worship 
by calling attention to the manner in which it had orig- 
inated. Observe that the most obnoxious of these per- 
sistent features of Canaanitish practices is the sacrifice of 
children (12. 31). 

The basis of this demand that Jehovah alone shall be 
worshiped should be carefully noted. Jehovah, out of his 
great goodness and love, chose the Hebrew people to be 
his own people (7. 6-8). This love led him to redeem 
them from Egyptian bondage and to make a covenant with 
the founders of the nation. He never has repudiated this 



82 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

covenant, and his love is still turned toward his own. The 
history of the Hebrews is a history of this ministering 
love (8. 2-10). Yet Jehovah's love is not such that trans- 
gression goes unpunished. Instances of such punishment 
are cited (11. 2-7), and the present generation is sternly 
warned not to take advantage of this compassionate love. 
Kegulations Concerning Worship. — (a) The place 
of worship. — The law of the single sanctuary: (1) De- 
struction of the high places (Deuteronomy 12. 2-4). The 
student will recall that worship at the many scattered 
sanctuaries went on unchallenged for centuries. Hosea is 
the first to question in any way the legitimacy of this 
worship. No one of the prophets advocated their destruc- 
tion. It was left to these Deuteronomic writers of this 
new code to insist upon their abandonment in favor of 
the Temple. This was now for the first time possible. 
The northern kingdom was no more; Judah was only a 
small territory. But even so it involved a striking change 
in the people's beliefs and practices. (2) The single sanc- 
tuary (Deuteronomy 12. 5-19). What sanctuary, though 
not expressly named, does the writer have in mind? Were 
earlier worshipers not conscious of meeting Jehovah at 
other altars? Eecall Solomon's visit to Gideon (1 Kings 
3. 4) and similar practices in the earlier history. Observe 
that this code contemplates not only a destruction of the 
worship imported by Solomon for the sake of his wives 
and by Manasseh from Assyria, but also the cessation of 
all Jehovah worship at scattered altars. Worship is now 
to be centered at Jerusalem. Since sacrifice, in this code, 
is still the customary expression of worship, observe the 
positive demand that it must be offered at the central 
sanctuary (Deuteronomy 12. 13, 14, 17, 18). (3) Ex- 
amine 12. 15, 20-27. These verses are extremely interest- 
ing. Note that so long as sacrifice takes place at the local 
altars, all killing and eating of animals is sacrifice. When 
all sacrifice was ordered by this code to take place at Jeru- 
salem, either the ordinary killing of animals for food had 
to take place at Jerusalem, with great inconvenience to 
daily life, or the killing of animals for food must be de- 



PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 83 

clared nonsacrificial. Which way out was taken by the 
reformers? Note that this legislation wipes out the old 
distinction of clean and unclean sacrificial animals (12. 
15-22). The blood, however, formerly an essential ele- 
ment of the sacrifice, retains enough of this sanctity in the 
thought of the legislators that it must not be treated com- 
monly; it must be poured out upon the ground. 

(b) The law of tithes. — Examine 14. 22-27. This provi- 
sion should be observed carefully. Undoubtedly it is the 
earliest Old-Testament legislation on this subject. 1 What 
things are tithed? What disposal is made of the tithe? 
Amos 4. 4 indicates that this tenth of the produce of the 
soil, together with the firstlings of flock and herd, was 
used in a sacred feast at the various local sanctuaries. 
What change in the disposal of the tithe, then, does this 
Deuteronomic law contemplate? Why is the change in- 
sisted upon? 

(c) The law of firstlings. — Read 15. 19-23. The student 
will observe the sanctity of the first-born male of flock and 
herd. Such could not be used in labor, but must be offered 
to Jehovah in sacrifice. Consult Exodus 20. 24 for an 
earlier law. Here, too, in pre-Deuteronomic days, the 
firstlings were sacrificed at the local altars. The change 
is in the interest of the one sanctuary and the one Deity. 

. (d) The annual agricultural feasts. — (1) The Passover, 
or the Feast of Unleavened Bread (16. 1-8) : Here, too, 
the chief change is the transfer from local shrines to the 
central sanctuary at Jerusalem. (2) The Feast of Weeks 
(16. 9-12) : The Harvest Feast also was a festival older 
than the Deuteronomic age. Earlier laws are found in Ex- 
odus 23. 16; 34. 22. This festival too was celebrated at 
the local sanctuaries. The Deuteronomic law fixes the date 
of the festival seven weeks from the first beginnings of 
the grain harvest and limits the celebration to the Temple 
at Jerusalem. See Deuteronomy 26. 1-11 for the ritual 
of the sacrifice at such occasions. (3) The Feast of Taber- 
nacles (16. 13-15) : This is an ancient autumn feast, called 



1 See Deuteronomy, Driver, page 168f. 



84 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

in the earlier legislation the Feast of Ingathering (Exo- 
dus 23. 16; 34. 22). The present code withdraws the feast 
from its local observance to (and legalizes it only at) 
Jerusalem and fixes the length of the feast. 

(e) Various laws dealing with improper worship, — 
Asherahs and Mazzebahs condemned (16. 21, 22) ; blem- 
ished animals unacceptable for sacrifice; divination and 
spiritualism condemned (18. 10-14) ; sacred prostitution 
proscribed (23. 17, 18) ; vows not to be lightly ignored 
(23. 21-23). > 

(/) Religious persons. — (1) Priests: These in the 
Deuteronomic age are known also as Levites (17. 18 to 18. 
1, 6-8). The Levites who have had charge of the various 
local sanctuaries shall go to Jerusalem and share alike 
in the labors and rewards of the Temple priests (18. 6-8). 
Josiah was not able to put the country priests upon an 
equality with their brethren of the Temple. See 2 Kings 
23. 9. (2) This code contemplates a succession of 
prophets (18. 15-22). The prophet is the chief inter- 
preter of the divine will. The truth of his predictive 
statements is the attestation of his office. 

The Development of Hebrew Law 

In any primitive community custom is the law. The 
head of the family is the judge who administers the af- 
fairs of his clan according to the established usage. When 
the Hebrews entered Palestine they carried with them un- 
doubtedly a group of commandments engraved on stone 
setting forth certain regulations of worship. Those in 
charge of the ark, by some form of sacred lot, rendered 
decisions in cases where the head of the clan felt that the 
case required a divine judgment. This clan rulership is 
illustrated in the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) 
and in the headship of Joash in Ophrah (Judges 6. 30). 
But with the entrance into Canaan and the assumption of 
more settled forms of life the authority of the clan chief 
gradually gave way to the older men of the villages, who 
rendered decisions according to customs. Judges 11. 
4-11 illustrates this stage of Hebrew administration of 



PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 85 

laws. New situations arose from time to time, and these 
elders naturally gave new interpretations to old precepts 
or formulated new usages to meet new conditions. These 
elders constituted the judiciary of Israel for centuries. 
The rise of the monarchy did not greatly disturb their 
prerogatives. The king was the chief judge, and in the 
course of time there were associated with him certain 
officials who were his representatives. The reigns of David 
and Solomon offer illustration of this arrangement. Na- 
both's trial before the elders and nobles of Jezreel (1 
Kings 21. 8) indicates a fusion of the ordinary villages 
and royal courts. Even under such conditions decisions 
were rendered according to ancient practice. 

During these centuries there were innumerable cases 
where the elders who were in perplexity or the individual 
seeking light in a doubtful hour turned to the sanctuary 
for the judgment of Jehovah. Such judgments were ren- 
dered by the priest, who, being more conversant with 
usage, rendered his decision according to the custom, or 
who manipulated the sacred lot, and the decision thus 
reached was accepted as the judgment of Jehovah. 

In the course of time the ancient practice was codified. 
This first written Hebrew code, with the exception of the 
Sinaitic tables, is known as the Book of the Covenant. This 
is found in Exodus 20. 2 to 23. 19. This includes a Deca- 
logue, certain regulations of worship, and various laws 
dealing with property. Exodus 34 undoubtedly contains 
equally old written regulations. The elders of villages 
and towns are the judges presupposed by the Book of 
the Covenant. These earliest written laws codified the 
prevailing practice and were intended for the use of priests 
in their decisions at the sanctuaries. 

The development of Hebrew law did not cease with this 
codification in the ninth century. Elders and priests con- 
stantly were expanding older regulations to meet new con- 
ditions. The Deuteronomic Code was not an entirely new 
body of laws. Its comparison with the Book of the Cove- 
nant shows its dependence on the earlier legislation. The 
new code is chiefly concerned with the uprooting of for- 



86 THE KELIGION OF JITDAH 

eign worship, the limitation of worship to Jerusalem, and 
certain humanitarian provisions in response to the social 
preaching of the eighth-century prophets. This latter ele- 
ment will be examined in the following lesson. 

Summary 

From the preceding chapter, as well as from this study, 
the student will observe the importance of this Deutero- 
nomic Code : (1) It was the basis of Josiah's reforms. (2) 
It was adopted in a public assembly as the code of the 
realm. (3) It contained the revolutionary provision of 
the central sanctuary and the consequent varied changes 
in the social and religious life of the people. It gave a 
new meaning to sacrifice. (4) It was based upon the 
prophetic demand for the sole worship of Jehovah, the 
end of idolatry, and social justice. (5) It did not rise 
to the spiritual heights of the prophets in two particulars : 
(a) It clung to the sacrificial system as the mode of wor- 
ship. Perhaps these lawmakers understood the conserva- 
tism of the people better than did the prophets. At any 
rate, they deemed that the time had not yet come for a 
nonsacrificial worship. (&) It gave no hint of a Mes- 
sianic age. It is probable that the author of the code be- 
lieved that its acceptance and practice would constitute 
that golden era of which Isaiah had dreamed. 

The student cannot overstudy this important body of 
laws. It was a turning point in many ways in Hebrew 
religious life. It is the beginning of the death of proph- 
etism and the first definite forecast of the legal Judaism 
of later centuries. But it enforced in a new way the 
monotheism of the prophets and perpetuated that vision 
for the world. 

Studies for the Quiet Hour 

What is the relation between law and life? To what 
extent must a law embody custom to become effective? 
Why do we have so many dead laws upon our statute 
.books ? Ask some attorney to estimate the number of Jaws 



PEOVISIONS FOE WOESHIP 87 

in your State toward the enforcement of which little or 
no effort is made. 

To what extent is reform by law possible? Does this 
depend on the form of government? In America what is 
the chief support of law? In what cases is one justified 
in the violation of law ? What must be the ultimate sanc- 
tion of law? 

In Josiah's reforms we have an instance of the wise 
regulation of worship by the state. Is the separation of 
church and state in America a sound political principle? 
If compulsory education is justifiable, why is not an en- 
forced moral and religious training conducive to the wel- 
fare of the state ? Is the opposition to the state's religious 
and moral instruction of the youth due to the fact that 
such position is fundamentally wrong or to the practical 
difficulties of such education? If the principle is sound, 
ought not all educators, both secular and religious, to 
give themselves unweariedly to devise some method of re- 
ligious and moral training authorized and enforced by the 
state ? 

This code was formulated in one of the darkest hours of 
Hebrew history. The reign of Manasseh seemed to have 
undone the hard-won results of the great prophets. But in 
these years of disloyalty to Jehovah and to his noblest 
champions other servants of his were bringing together the 
neglected laws, giving them new interpretations, and mak- 
ing new demands of Judah in the name of Jehovah. De- 
feat for the man of God is the summons to another battle. 
However much our civilization seems shadowed by war, 
greed, and lust, we may labor on unweariedly to uphold 
the cause of righteousness. The kingdom of God cannot be 
set aside by the ignorance and passions of men. 

"Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God." Here is some- 
thing new in religion. During the whole of the nation's 
past men had been taught to stand in awe before Jehovah 
and, often, to fear him. The fathers of the nation trembled 
in fear before the thunderings of Sinai (Judges 5. 4, 5). 
"The fear of Jehovah" had become a synonym of religion 
(Isaiah 29. 13) . Men had been taught to worship Jehovah, 



88 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

to offer sacrifices to him, to refrain from careless and in- 
sincere use of his name in daily speech; but they had not 
been taught that their first duty was to love him. How 
shall we cultivate love for God? Out of what situations 
among human beings does true love spring? What origi- 
nates and maintains the love of husband and wife? Ac- 
quaintance, similarity of interests, experiences undergone 
together, common ideals and struggles — these are the woof 
and warp of full, enduring love. The color of the eyes, the 
tale of years, the housing of the home — these are incidental 
in the epic of their love. The love that lives is truly spir- 
itual. We can learn to love. Let us seek His interests and 
objectives, and we shall draw near him and be drawn unto 
him. 

Hebrew fathers were exhorted to teach the love of Je- 
hovah to their children. To teach love is the Deuteronomic 
ideal. We teach a multitude of other things. We teach our 
children deception, suspicion, selfishness, pleasures, de- 
sire for wealth, snobbishness, love of display, craving for 
praise. We teach them arithmetic, music, and dancing. 
Germany taught her youth war. During a half century 
her youth were instructed in the "superiority" of Ger- 
man civilization and the mission of Germany to extend 
her civilization into other lands. We teach class distinc- 
tions and race antipathies. We organize propagandas for 
and against every public issue. It is time that we taught 
love. We can teach good will. We can cultivate frater- 
nalism. We can inculcate love for God. The proposed 
Hebrew method never has been surpassed. When religion 
— not a catechism — is systematically taught to children; 
when it is the subject of daily conversation ; when it mani- 
fests itself in the books, magazines, pictures, and music 
in our homes; when it takes precedence over business; 
when it appears a living, lovable, and essential part of 
our daily life, then we will teach naturally love and 
religion. All vital religion is taught. Its ideas, its ex- 
periences, its conduct, flash their truth and reality from 
one generation to another. But we must know what we 
would teach to others. 



PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 89 



Additional Tests of Lesson Masteby 

1. Upon what did the Deuteronomic Code base the demand 
that Jehovah only should be worshiped? 

2. What constituted the offense in the worship of other 
deities? 

3. What provision of the code was the most revolutionary? 

4. What significant change was made in the killing of 
animals for food? 

5. What use according to this code was to be made of the 
tithe? What sources of income were tithed? 

6. Why did these reformers put a stop to the worship of the 
local sanctuaries? 

7. What became of the country priests? 

8. What distinction was made in Israel and Judah between 
civil and religious law? Who were the administrators of the 
law? 

9. What new spirit now pervades Hebrew law through the 
adoption of the Deuteronomic Code? 

Valuable Illustbative Readings 

Deuteronomy, G. A. Smith, in "Cambridge Bible for Schools 
and Colleges." No single volume offers the student so much 
help. The introduction to this commentary is exceedingly 
worth knowing. 

Article "Deuteronomy" in the Encyclopedia Britannica and 
also in Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, Sections IV and VII. 

Articles "Law and Justice" and "Law Literature" in the 
Encyclopedia Biblica may be consulted for the development 
of Hebrew law. 



CHAPTER IX 

DEUTERONOMIC PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL 
WELFARE 

It will be recalled that the eighth-century prophets 
insisted upon social justice and righteousness. Greed of 
power and wealth, love of ease, and sensual desire had 
well-nigh destroyed the last vestiges of the old clan broth- 
erhood in both Israel and Judah. These prophets pleaded 
for a social reorganization of Hebrew society. Humani- 
tarian motives were the crying need in every department 
of Judah's life. So insistent was this need that the 
prophets believed that social justice and love were the 
supreme expressions of religion. Micah's summary of 
religion will be remembered: "What doth Jehovah re- 
quire of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and 
to walk humbly with thy God?" (6. 8). 

The Deuteronomic writers responded to this humani- 
tarian appeal of the prophets; they attempted to intro- 
duce into Jewish law the prophetic social ideal. They 
did not go as far as the great prophets in minimizing 
sacrifices but they planned more than the priestly order 
would practice. 

Humanitarian Provisions 

The Amalgamation of War. — (a) Exemptions from 
military service. — (1) Release from service was granted 
to the man who had built a house and had not yet dedi- 
cated it. Among primitive Semitic peoples to-day a new 
house must be dedicated by a sacrifice. "Every house 
must have its death — a man, woman, child, or animal." 
To sacrifice an animal redeems the inmate of the house 
from disaster. Hence, to enter into war with the dedica- 
tory sacrifice unoffered subjects the man to the maximum 
chances of death. (2) The man who had not yet par- 

90 



PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE 91 

taken of the fruits of his vineyard was exempted. Since 
it was not until the fifth year after planting that the 
vintner could enjoy the rewards of his labor, the provi- 
sion seems intended to give a man a chance to enjoy the 
blessings of his labor before he shall be required to jeop- 
ardize his life in battle. (3) The humane motive is 
apparent in the dismissing of the man engaged to be 
married. 

(b) Treatment of captured cities. — It was the accepted 
belief among primitive Semitic peoples that the inhabit- 
ants and their possessions found in a captured city should 
be utterly destroyed. Mesha, king of Moab, on the famous 
Moabite stone states that he devoted an entire town in this 
manner to his deity. The narrative in 1 Samuel 15 
expresses the same conception. As this latter narrative 
indicates, however, there was being developed the feel- 
ing that this was a harsh procedure. The Deuteronomic 
legislation embodies this growing humane sentiment. Ex- 
amine Deuteronomy 20. 10-18. 

(c) Preservation of the enemy's fruit trees. — Read 20. 
19, 20. The barbarous practice of destroying fruit trees 
was not uncommon in ancient times. Assyrian monarchs 
resorted to the destruction of orchards in their campaigns. 
Even Israel once thought it a justifiable method of at- 
tack (2 Kings 3. 19, 25). In the light of events in the 
war with Germany the Hebrew legislation shines exceed- 
ingly luminous in its morality. 

(d) Consideration for yiptive women (21. 10-14). — 
Ordinarily women taken in war became at once the con- 
cubines of their new masters. 

Family Relationships. 1 — (a) Sex relations. — A com- 
parison of Exodus 22. 16, 17 with Deuteronomy 22. 28, 
29 shows the attempt to make seduction a less attractive 
offense against the social order. Divorce is discussed in 
22. 18, 19, 28, 29; 24. 2-4. Exodus 21. 7-11 deals with 
the dismissal of a slave-wife. Neither code goes far 
•toward securing woman an equality with man. The 
woman, even in the later code, possesses no right to di- 
vorce her husband. Adultery is severely punished (Deu- 



92 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

teronomy 22. 22-24). Religious prostitution is forbidden 
(Deuteronomy 23. 17, 18). The levirate marriage (Deu- 
teronomy 25. 5-10) is another survival of the unfortu- 
nate subordination of woman to man. For .the perpetua- 
tion of the name of a childless husband the woman is 
ruthlessly sacrified. Yet it is probable that in some meas- 
ure this levirate law is an amelioration of earlier condi- 
tions. Deuteronomy 21. 15-17 secures the property rights 
of the first-born son against an unjust favoritism. 

(b) Servants and slaves. — The prompt payment of the 
day laborer (24. 14, 15) is a fine humanitarian provision, 
which undoubtedly corrected a flagrant abuse. The hu- 
manitarian difference of the two codes is strikingly illus- 
trated in the provision affecting the manumission of slaves. 
Study Exodus 21. 2-4 and Deuteronomy 15. 12-15. What 
advance is made in the later legislation ? Both codes pro- 
vide for permanent slavery (Exodus 21. 5, 6; Deuteron- 
omy 15. 16, 17). What is the difference in method? What 
provisions are made for the religious life of slaves ? (Deu- 
teronomy 5. 14; 12. 17, 18; 16. 10-11). What is the 
rule for fugitive slaves? (23. 15, 16). What class of 
slaves is here contemplated? 

Consideration for the Weak and Dependent. — (a) 
Alien residents in Judah. — For a variety of reasons men 
and women from other states settled more or less per- 
manently among the Hebrews. Ruth, a Moabitess, took up 
her residence with her mother-in-law in Bethlehem. Such 
persons were deprived of the protection and support cus- 
tomarily given the individual by his family or clan. These 
alien residents often must have felt their insecure social 
position. No code of laws previous to the Deuteronomic 
legislation secured them any legal rights. There was the 
injunction not to oppress these sojourners (Exodus 22. 
21). They were required to observe the Sabbath (20. 10) 
but they were not to share in the Passover (12. 45). 
The Deuteronomic Code declared that Jehovah loves 
these strangers and commands the Hebrew also to love 
them (10. 18). Loans made to them, as well as to fellow 
Hebrews, must be without interest (23. 20), and such 



PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFAEE 93 

loans are to be canceled in the year of release (15. 3). The 
provision for the payment of wages of the poor laborer at 
the close of the day includes the sojourner (24. 14). Jus- 
tice is enjoined toward these resident aliens (24. 17). 
These provisions are a distinct advance in humanitarian- 
ism. 

(b) Kindness and justice toward widows, orphans, and 
other poor. — These persons are under Jehovah's special 
protection, and any injustice or want of kindness toward 
them will be brought to account (10. 18). The continued 
presence of poor persons is recognized (15. 7-11), and it 
is the duty of the propertied Hebrews to befriend and 
aid their economically weaker fellow citizens. They must 
not take in pledge the necessary household articles (24. 
6) ; the lender of money must not enter a man's house 
to select the article to be mortgaged (24. 10) ; the pledged 
garments of the poor must be returned each evening for 
the latter's use (24. 13) ; the wages of the poor must be 
paid daily (24. 15). The clothing of a widow must not 
be taken in pledge (24. 17). Orphans and widows must 
be permitted freely to glean in the grain fields, vineyards, 
and orchards (24. 19-21). They are to share in the dis- 
tribution of the third year's tithe (24. 19) and are to 
participate in the feasting of the annual festivals of sacri- 
fice (16. 11, 14). 

(c) The Levite. — Note the special provision for the 
Levite along with other dependents. Study 14. 22-27 
and observe what is done with this tithe for two successive 
years. What disposition is made of the third year's tithe ? 
(14. 28, 29; 26, 12-15). In this last section observe the 
three acts which would have desecrated the tithe. 

(d) Note the provisions against stealing land (19. 14) 
and false weights and measures (25. 13-16). 

Kindness to Animals. — In two instances the prevailing 
humaneness of this code is extended to animals. The ox 
and ass are included in the old provision for cessation 
of work on the Sabbath (5. 14), and the ox used to trample 
out the grain on the threshing floor is not to be muzzled 
(25. 4). 



94 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

The Administration of Justice.— (a) The courts. — 
Read 16. 18 ; 19. 11 ; 17. 8-11 and state the provisions for 
the securing of justice. It will be noted that the judiciary 
is in process of transition. In some cases the elders of 
the city constitute the tribunal. What cases are brought 
before them? (22. 13-16; 25. 5-10; 21. 18-21). It is 
quite probable that the judges were selected from the el- 
ders and were intended to constitute a smaller and, there- 
fore, more effective court. Note the constitution of the 
supreme court in 17. 8-11. It is probable that the judge 
of verse 9 is the king and that he associated with himself 
the Jerusalem priests in this court of appeal. What cases 
might come before this court? 

(b) Principles for guidance of the courts. — Eead 16. 
19. An early law of similar purport (Exodus 23. 6-8), 
according to the witness of the prophets, had been sadly 
disregarded. What provision for punishment graded ac- 
cording to guilt is given in 25. 1-3? Note the provision 
for contempt of court in 17. 12, 13. An exceedingly 
significant regulation is found in 24. 16. Compare this 
law with the incident in 2 Kings 14. 5, 6. The compiler 
of the book of Kings, writing a considerable period after 
the event and later than Josiah's reform, here refers to the 
Deuteronomic Code. This historical note of the sparing 
of the innocent members of a guilty family is the earliest 
reference to a change from the primitive rule that re- 
garded all members of a clan equally guilty with the ac- 
tual committer of the crime. This individualization of 
guilt and punishment is a striking advance in Hebrew 
thought. It not only is a break from barbarous cruelty 
but it opens the way for the spiritual worship of the in- 
dividual; it denotes a deepening significance of individual 
life. A sense of social obligation and responsibility is an 
element of the highest civilization, but equally necessary 
is the feeling that the individual, in the last analysis, is 
the unit of life. 

(c) Examine the law of witnesses in 17. 6, 7; 19. 15-21. 
To what extent would such methods prevent unjust ac- 
cusations and just trials ? 



PROVISIONS FOE SOCIAL WELFARE 95 

Laws Relating to the King. — The qualifications and 
duties of the king are stated in 17. 14-20. Recall the 
various kings of Israel and Judah and state the limita- 
tions of the kingship here imposed. Examine too the 
qualifications for citizenship treated in 23. 1-8. 

HUM ANIT A RT A NISM AND JUSTICE 

It is not to be understood that the Deuteronomic legis- 
lation did not contain severe penalties or that it rose 
to modern heights of humane conceptions of social re- 
lationships. Stern penalties were provided for infrac- 
tions of the principle that Jehovah alone is to be wor- 
shiped. Death is the common penalty for all who wor- 
ship other gods or who solicit worshipers for non-Hebraic 
rites. The law regarding the cities of refuge illustrates 
the combination of humanitarianism and severity and at 
the same time exemplifies the stern sense of justice which 
pervades the code. 

Read 19. 1-3. In former times all persons who had 
killed another were subject to the law of blood revenge. 
It was the duty of the nearest of kin of the slain man to 
avenge his death. The actual murderer, if he were known, 
was slain at once by the interested relative or was turned 
over to the relatives of the dead man for punishment by 
death. If the actual murderer could not be apprehended, 
any member of the clan or family of the murderer could 
be substituted to receive the death penalty. See 1 Kings 
2. 28-33. Those who had slain another usually sought 
refuge at a sanctuary (Exodus 21. 12-14; 1 Kings 1. 
50). When the law of the single sanctuary was introduced 
by the Deuteronomic Code to protect excusable homicides 
from the punishment required by the custom of blood 
revenge, it was necessary to designate certain cities to 
be asylums for those who had committed manslaughter. 
If the elders of such cities were convinced that the killing 
was intentional, the murderer was delivered to the kins- 
men of the slain man, who promptly put the criminal to 
death. This seems to be the first provision for any 
public and official determination of the guilt of the homi- 



96 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

cide. It is the first legislation in Hebrew life which dis- 
tinguishes between accidental and intentional killing. It 
is the only Semitic legislation which does not compromise 
murder by the payment of fines. 

Summaky 

It already has been stated that this Deuteronomic law 
book, which was found by Hilkiah in the Temple in 621 
B. C. and which was the basis of the reforms of Josiah, 
was written in the reign of either Manasseh or Josiah 
by persons who had caught the spirit of the great eighth- 
century prophets. The study of the code has made this 
evident. It is based upon older legislation, but even in 
case of ancient laws nearly every one of them is given 
new interpretations and additions that demand a more 
spiritual worship and a greater expression of humanitar- 
ianism and social justice. The language of 7. 6-8 is an 
example of this prophetic inspiration of the codifiers of the 
book of law. "Thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy 
God" is a reflection of Isaiah's inaugural vision, and the 
assertion that Jehovah had chosen Judah above all peo- 
ples is an echo of Isaiah's triumph in the deliverance of 
Jerusalem and his Messianic hope. The love of Jehovah 
so often declared and the answering love of Israel so 
eloquently pleaded for by Hosea and the social justice 
demanded by all the prophets everywhere are evident in 
this seventh-century compilation of law. 

A new departure is the code's insistence that the peo- 
ple should become conversant with the law. Eead atten- 
tively 6. 4-9. This passage and 11. 13-21 and Numbers 
15. 37-41 make up the famous Jewish Shema, or confes- 
sion of faith. This Shema is taught to children before 
they learn to read and is included in the morning and 
evening prayers of every pious Jew. The New-Testament 
student will recall Christ's estimate of the opening words 
(Mark 12. 29). The student ought to memorize 6. 4-7. 
Knowledge of the law and reverence for it ever are funda- 
mentals of good government. 

This chapter, with the preceding two, must impress the 



PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE 97 

student that Deuteronomy is one of the world's epoch- 
making books. It profoundly affected the whole of sub- 
sequent Jewish life. The prophets raised the question, 
What doth Jehovah require of thee ? The Deuteronomists 
answered, as the prophets had answered: We must love 
Jehovah with every element of our very being. His love 
surrounds us and constantly ministers to us. We must 
return his love by an uncompromising and abiding affec- 
tion. This affection for Jehovah will express itself in 
justice and kindness toward all his creatures. The socially 
insecure must become the objects of the love and gener- 
osity of the more favored. The nation is a community of 
brothers. The state is a family. It is impossible to be 
religious and at the same time be wanting in the humane 
social virtues. This union of religion and social service 
is the code's abiding glory. 

Questions for Civilization Builders 

The leading element of the seventh-century Hebrew 
ideal of human welfare is material prosperity. Large 
families, numerous flocks and herds, and abundant crops 
(Deuteronomy 28. 11) are the Deuteronomist's conception 
of a prosperous state. Will an increasing, well-fed popula- 
tion guarantee a perfect social order ? Is the goal of human 
life happiness for all? To what extent is human happi- 
ness dependent on wealth? Are people living to-day as if 
they believed that happiness depended on well-dressed and 
well-fed bodies? If wealth in itself is not a guarantee of 
happiness, would an equality of wealth make men happy? 
If we hold that happiness is dependent on bodily comfort, 
how shall such wealth be secured to all ? If we agree that 
wealth is not fundamental to human happiness, how shall 
we go about enlightening the ignorant people who still 
think wealth a guaranty of the satisfied life ? 

This Deuteronomic legislation sets up an ideal of human 
kindliness. It is an attempt to embrace all Hebrews in 
one family and so instill in the rich and powerful a fellow 
feeling for the humblest member of the state. To what 



98 THE KELIGION OF JTJDAH 

extent is such sentiment an essential in civilization? Is 
such brotherhood possible in a social order whose members 
stand upon a widely contrasted economic footing? Can 
human brotherhood exist in a state whose citizens range 
from paupers to plutocrats? Could it be absent from a 
state whose every citizen is a millionaire? What forces in 
to-day's civilization are making for human brotherhood ? 

The Deuteronomic Code is largely the embodiment of 
the vision of Hebrew eighth-century prophets. If humani- 
tarian preaching must precede humanitarian law, is there 
not cut out for you both opportunity and duty? Are you 
not in error to attack no abuses because you have no po- 
litical power? The preacher is ever the pioneer of the 
legislator. All wrongs must be denounced by the prophet 
before they are condemned by a code. An evil must be 
made a vice before it can be a crime. You may not be in 
position to label an injustice a crime, but as long as God 
gives you breath, you can proclaim it a vice. The legis- 
lator makes a thing a crime; the prophet makes it a 
vice. If you believe in God, your work is cut out for you. 
Set yourself so vigorously against the evils of the day that 
your sons will write your visions and your denunciations 
into laws. 

Measuring Results 

The student should seek to get a clear conception of the 
Deuteronomic social ideals. Reexamine this code in the light 
of the following questions: 

1. What forms of political and judicial government are con- 
templated? 

2. What is the source of the nation's laws? 

3. What provision is made for additional legislation? 

4. What form of economic social order underlies this legis- 
lation? 

5. What industries are the sources of wealth? 

6. What ideals of marriage and the home are reflected in the 
code? 

7. What is the status of women? 

8. What educational and benevolent institutions are fos- 
tered? 

9. What is the attitude toward alien races? 

10. How does this correspond with previous prophetic teach- 
ing? 



PROVISIONS FOE SOCIAL WELFARE 99 

11. Judging by this code, what is the Hebrew seventh-cen- 
tury ideal for a people's welfare? (28. 1-25, 38-40). 

12. How is such welfare to be secured? 

13. What provision is made for the enforcement of the 
code? 

14. To what extent Is public opinion recognized to be the 
ultimate guarantee of law enforcement? 

15. Judging by the social and religious conditions at the 
time the code was promulgated, what is the likelihood that 
this body of law will be enforced? 

Supplementary Mateeial foe Study 

Deuteronomy in "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Col- 
leges" is a most excellent commentary. Note especially the 
discussion of "Tithes" (pages 192-7) ; "The Year of Release" 
(pages 198-206); "Cities of Refuge" (pages 236-40); and 
"Levirate Marriage" (pages 286-8). 

The Old Testament in the Light of To-Day, Bade, Chapter 
VIII, is an appraisal of the ethics of Deuteronomy. 



CHAPTER X 

JEREMIAH: PROPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 

The preceding three chapters carried the political his- 
tory of Judah to the year 621 B. C. This was the year 
of the discovery of the Deuteronomic law book and the 
reforms inaugurated by Josiah to carry out the provisions 
of this code. This chapter and Chapters XI and XII deal 
with the remaining history of the southern kingdom until 
the end came in 586 B. C. The leading figure in this 
sad period is Jeremiah. The student will be well repaid 
for a most painstaking study of this fascinating char- 
acter. 

The Political History of Judah's Decline 

Josiah, the reformer, lived about thirteen years after 
he had given the state a constitution, in 621 B. C. There 
is little known of these years. In view of the fact that 
within a few months after his death there was a sad lapse 
toward the conditions under Manasseh it is probable that 
Josiah was kept busy during these years endeavoring to 
establish fully the provisions of the code. Read 2 Kings 
23. 29, 30 for the account of Josiah's death. The Assyrian 
Empire was breaking up before the Medes and Baby- 
lonians. The nation no longer was able to impose its iron 
rule upon the west. This was Egypt's opportunity. In 
608 B. C, Necho II led his armies to recover the west 
land for the empire of the Pharaohs. Josiah, either as a 
vassal of Assyria or, more likely, on his own initiative, 
marched to give the invader battle. According to 2 Kings 
23. 15-20 Josiah was free to impose his reform of worship 
upon various sanctuaries in the former territory of Israel. 
It is not improbable that Josiah was impelled by the hope 
of extending the boundaries of Judah to the former limits 

100 



PEOPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 101 

of Solomon's kingdom. Jeremiah 3. 12, if it belongs to 
the times of Josiah, may have encouraged this prince in 
an effort to widen the boundaries of his kingdom. 

Jehoahaz, Josiah's son, held the throne of Judah only 
three months. See 2 Kings 23. 31-33 for the account of 
his death. Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, was set upon 
the throne by Necho II in 607, and Judah became the 
yassal of Egypt. Necho's prosperity was short-lived. The 
Assyrian Empire was dismembered in 606 by the Medes 
and Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian 
troops to retake the western provinces from Egypt. He 
met Necho at Carchemish, 605 B. C, and defeated him. 
Judah again became the vassal of the east. Eead 2 Kings 
24. 1. Jehoiakim's revolt was not immediately punished 
in force. The passage 2 Kings 24. 2 indicates Nebuchad- 
nezzar's plan to harass the Judaean state until he could 
lead a western campaign to subjugate the kingdom. Jehoi- 
akim inherited from his father the impending doom of 
Nebuchadnezzar's wrath. This Babylonian prince led his 
army to capture the rebellious city. The passage 2 Kings 
24. 8-17 (with the exception of verses 13, 14) preserves 
this account of the surrender of Jerusalem and the first 
captivity. This occurred in 597. Other western cities fell 
to Nebuchadnezzar, who returned to Babylon with his cap- 
tives and tribute. During the next eight or nine years 
Nebuchadnezzar for some reason gave little attention to 
the west. This relaxation of Babylonian control gave 
Egypt another opportunity. Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoia- 
chin, whom Nebuchadnezzar raised to the throne in 597, 
listened to the Egyptian lure (Jeremiah 37. 5-7) and re- 
volted against Babylon. Eead 2 Kings 24. 18-20. There 
could be only one end to such folly. The account of the 
capture of Jerusalem is given in 2 Kings 25. 1-22. Study 
this narrative until the details are familiar. The date is 
586. The history of the southern kingdom ends with this 
catastrophe. But the fortunes of the scattered people are 
followed a few steps further in 2 Kings 25. 23-26. With 
the flight into Egypt a hopeless shadow palls the fortunes 
of the Hebrew state. 



102 THE KELIGION OF JTTDAH 

Jeremiah and the State 

Important Events. — During the forty or more years of 
Jeremiah's ministry there are six events of outstanding 
importance which greatly influenced his prophetic mes- 
sages. These are the Deuteronomic reform under Josiah 
in 621, the death of Josiah in 608, the reaction under 
Jehoiakim, the battle of Carchemish in 605, Jehoiachin's 
surrender of Jerusalem in 596, and the sacking of Jeru- 
salem in 586. 

Jeremiah, as we have seen in a previous chapter, began 
his ministry before the promulgation of the Deuteronomic 
Code in 621. It is a moot question what part he had in this 
reform. He had nothing to do with the composition of 
the book. But it is not unlikely that he entered sym- 
pathetically into the effort to purge worship of its heathen- 
ism. Although the priestly conception of worship voiced 
by the code was foreign to Jeremiah's thought, there was 
enough of good in it to enlist his support. Bead Jeremiah 
11. 1-6. The prophet's championship of the code brought 
him into collision with his own townsmen of Anathoth. 
Why did the advocacy of the reform incense them? (11. 
18-23). Jeremiah's praise of Josiah (22. 15, 16) sug- 
gests also that he would have found it easy to cooperate 
with such a prince. There is every reason to suppose that 
had the spirit of this Deuteronomic legislation really pos- 
sessed the hearts of the people it would have won Jere- 
miah's support to the end of his life. 

Moral and Religions Relapse. — It will be recalled that 
the Deuteronomic Code promised the people a God-fearing 
king (Deuteronomy 17. 14-20), a prosperity, a numerous 
population, and a wide empire (11. 22-25). Josiah, con- 
scious of fulfilling Jehovah's demands, may have gone up 
to Megiddo to meet Necho expecting a great victory. 
The latter part of his reign had verified the promises of 
the Deuteronomic legislation. Josiah had endeavored to 
conform the state to the law's requirements. Prosperity, 
peace, and the outlook for extension of territory followed. 
Then came the king's death and the defeat of the army in 



PROPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 103 

608. By the Deuteronomic theory this was inexplicable. 
The reformers were discredited by this tragedy and the 
sudden fate of Jehoahaz. A reaction set in in favor of the 
religious practices introduced by Manasseh. Preachers 
like Jeremiah were out of favor. A new wave of corrup- 
tion spread across civil and religious life. The courts 
failed to secure justice (Jeremiah 7. 5) ; orphans, widows, 
and aliens, contrary to the Deuteronomic injunction, were 
oppressed; theft, adultery, false oaths, treachery, lies, op- 
pression, and murder were outstanding evidences of the 
social anarchy that was hurrying the state toward its bit- 
ter end (9. 3-9; 10. 10; 9. 4; 22. 3). Even the prophets 
committed adultery, walked in lies, and strengthened the 
hands of evildoers (23. 14). A similar riotousness charac- 
terized worship. Foreign deities again had altars and wor- 
shipers (7. 6; 11. 10); astral worship was a common 
practice (19. 13) ; the cult of the queen of heaven was 
reintroduced (7. 18); idolatry was widespread (11. 13; 
13. 10; 18. 15; 19. 4) ; human sacrifice again was offered 
in the valley of Hinnom (7. 31; Ezekiel 20. 26). Ezekiel 
adds other details of the religious lapse under Jehoiakim. 
A form of animal worship, some mysterious cult, was 
practiced by prominent citizens within the Temple (Ezekiel 
8. 7-13) . The Adonis cult again prevailed among the women 
of Jerusalem (8. 14, 15) ; the worship of the sun openly 
was carried on within the sanctuary of Jehovah (8. 16- 
18). 

Jeremiah's Political Messages 

An Indictment of the Nation's Responsible Leaders. — 

Upon whom did Jeremiah place the responsibility of this 
condition ? Eead Jeremiah 22. 13-19. Of what crimes does 
he accuse Jehoiakim? What is Jehoiakim' s conception of 
the kingship ? What is Jeremiah's idea of the duties and 
prerogatives of a ruling prince? What is the inevitable 
end of the ruler who mistakes his office? Examine also 
23. 1, 2 for Jeremiah's position that the chief blame for 
the impending ruin of the state rests with Judah's kings. 
Examine 7, 21-23; 8. 2; 13. 13, 14; 14. 18; 19. 1; 23. 11; 



104 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

26. 7-9, 16. What is Jeremiah's attitude toward the priest- 
hood? Of what evils does he accuse the priests? Note 
that he places upon them, as well as upon the princes, the 
responsibility for the ills of the state. Jeremiah regarded 
the priestly order as the chief bulwark of the false doc- 
trine of Jerusalem's inviolability, the upholders of a disas- 
trous and unspiritual conception and practice of worship. 
Observe especially 7. 21-23. This is a far-reaching ar- 
raignment of centuries of Hebrew worship. Jeremiah 
boldly asserts that the whole priestly scheme of life is 
inimical to Jehovah's rule. 

The prophets too were untrustworthy leaders. Examine 
8. 1, 2 ; 13. 13, 14; 14. 18. What sins does Jeremiah attrib- 
ute to them? Eead 14. 13-16. What is the burden of the 
message of these "false prophets"? Was their prediction 
fulfilled? What constituted their falseness? Were they 
insincere conscious deceivers or were they merely unable 
to read rightly the signs of the times ? Was it their fault 
that they cared more for the comforts of a quiet life than 
for the advocacy, in the midst of peril, of a great cause? 
Eead also 23. 9-32. Here the prophets are accused of 
gross sins, their messages are denied a divine origin, they 
encourage lawlessness and irreligion by their sermons, 
they mistake their dreams for the word of Jehovah. Chap- 
ter 28 gives a specific case of one of these false prophets 
and his message. What was Hananiah's message? (28. 
2-4, 11). What gave him his unwarranted confidence in 
the continuance of the Hebrew state ? 

The Nation's Future. — Early in the reign of Jehoiakim, 
Jeremiah delivered a sermon in the Temple in which he 
gave his expectations of the future destiny of his people. 
This discourse is found in 7. 1 to 8. 3. Additional details 
are given in 26. 1-9. Examine 7. 1-15. Observe that the 
Isaian faith in the safety of Jerusalem in 701 has become 
a dogma of the city's inviolability by 607. Thinking that 
they had the "temple of Jehovah," the people believed 
themselves secure. In what did Jeremiah ground the 
hope of the nation's permanence? What example is of- 
fered of Jehovah's treatment of a sanctuary defiled by 



PEOPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 105 

ethical misconduct? What is his portrayal of the nation's 
future? (7. 32; 8. 3; 9. 10, 11; 18. 17; 26. 1-7). Ex- 
amine too 13. 20-27 for the emphatic statement that the 
Jewish state is so habituated to evil that its collapse is 
inevitable. 

Jeremiah clearly foresaw the capture of Jerusalem in 
597. See 13. 18, 19; 22. 24-30. Yet he did not preach the 
annihilation of the Hebrew and his religion. Eead the 
beautiful parable of the potter in 18. 1-4. What is the 
lesson intended here by Jeremiah? See also the hope 
that he extends to the first band of captives (24. 1-6). 
These exiles carried to Babylon in 597 were settled in 
certain villages along the Kabaru Canal. They were not 
dispersed but, living in a colony, were able to preserve their 
laws and customs. Jeremiah's letter to these exiles (29. 
4-14) promises them, though not a speedy, a sure return 
to Jerusalem. The seventy years is a round number. 

Jerusalem was captured and sacked by the Babylonians 
in 586. The siege lasted approximately a year. Jeremiah 
constantly advised submission. Read 21. 3-10. During 
the siege the Egyptians approached Palestine, and the 
Babylonians temporarily raised the siege (37. 5). Pre- 
vious to this apparent deliverance, in the stress of the 
siege, the Hebrew slaves had been set free by their repent- 
ant masters in accordance with the demands of the Deu- 
teronomic Code. But as soon as the danger seemed passed, 
these freedmen were reenslaved. This perfidy of the peo- 
ple did not escape the scathing denunciation which it de- 
served. See 34. 8-22. During the final siege Jeremiah 
was imprisoned. His counsel to surrender the city an- 
gered the authorities. The whole account is interesting 
(37. 11 to 38. 28). 

Yet in the very hour of Jerusalem's destruction Jere- 
miah heroically expressed his faith in his people's future. 
Read 23. 6-15. By the purchase of an ancestral field at 
the hour it was overrun by the enemy Jeremiah expresses 
his confidence that the fields of Judah are yet to be tilled 
by the Jewish people. It is a strong assertion of the 
restoration of the people. 



106 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

After the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was liberated from 
confinement by the Babylonians and given his choice of 
going to Babylonia or remaining in Palestine. He chose 
the latter (39. 14). Gedaliah, the governor, fixed his 
capital at Mizpah. After the latter^ assassination the 
mere remnant of a nation was without a head. Counsels 
were divided. Some were urging a retreat into Egypt. 
An appeal was made to Jeremiah, who advised them to 
remain in Palestine. This advice was disregarded, and 
the leaders, taking with them many others, departed for 
Egypt. It is not known whether Jeremiah was forced to 
accompany these voluntary exiles or whether he chose to 
remain with them to the end. At any rate, he accom- 
panied them to their new home at Tahpanhes and was loyal 
to the prophetic mission until he died. 

Summary 

A careful study of all the foregoing discourses of Jere- 
miah in the light of their historical setting makes clear the 
great service he rendered the world's religion. Had no 
other voice been raised than that of the false prophets, 
the sacking of Jerusalem would have silenced Hebrew re- 
ligion. They proclaimed the inviolability of the state : that 
Jehovah had taken up his residence in the Temple and that 
he would not suffer his people to be dispersed. The reality 
of religion was thus made dependent on the permanence 
of the state. Jeremiah exalted Jehovah above any such 
frail scheme. Jehovah was the divine Potter, and the 
marred nation might be broken at the wheel, yet his pur- 
poses not be thwarted ultimately. Jeremiah divorced re- 
ligion and the state. He could see the state perish yet 
proclaim that religion, in the very destruction of the state, 
was the more truly realized and vindicated. 

Amos and Hosea likewise looked for the destruction 
of the state, but they did not look beyond the penalizing 
blow to a reconstruction of the world's religion. Isaiah 
too prophesied the ruin of Judah, but he was confident that 
a remnant would arise in the midst of the overthrow to 
reorganize Hebrew life on prophetic lines. Jeremiah was 



PEOPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 107 

the first to accept definitely for the southern kingdom the 
same fate that had overtaken Samaria. But there was 
a clear program for the future. The exiles were to live 
quietly in their foreign home and keep their ideals shin- 
ing, and in Jehovah's good time they would be returned 
to their ancestral cities and fields. Jeremiah cared more 
for religion than for the state. He was quite ready to 
sacrifice political independence to win his people from a 
demoralizing ritual of worship and anarchic social prac- 
tices to ethical conduct and spiritual religion. Jeremiah 
counted. 

Advices to Statesmen 

There are three fundamental principles upon which to 
build an enduring state: justice, love, and brotherhood. 
All human relations must be governed by justice. A 
sense of unfairness and wrong, sooner or later, will dyna- 
mite the most solidly constructed institution. But justice 
must be prompted by love. Love must be interpreted by 
brotherhood. Slaves and masters have loved each other; 
but slave love and master love will damn civilization. 
Brother love alone will consecrate the state. No institu- 
tion, no business, no custom, no nation, can win perma- 
nence otherwise. All institutions based on privilege, injus- 
tice, or distrust will pass away. God is King. His rule 
will ultimately hold sway. 

Any nation's chief need is prophetic statesmen: coun- 
selors whose first concern is not prosperity but righteous- 
ness. It seems incredible that a twentieth-century nation 
should debate unweariedly armaments, banking systems, 
harbor bills, commerce, and fleets, and tolerate with so 
much unconcern widespread prostitution, pernicious care- 
lessness of the public health, the evils of degenerate so- 
ciety so glaringly revealed by eugenics and the juvenile 
courts, and the want of moral and religious education by the 
state. What permanence is assured the state for which big 
business is a more pressing theme than just business ? How 
may we help to give just business its proper place ? 

You may not be in any legislative body ; but neither are 



108 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

many of our statesmen. Public opinion is the great legis- 
lator everywhere. If you will you may be a prophetic 
statesman. If you are ready to endure misunderstanding, 
scorn, social ostracism, and poverty for the sake of justice 
and righteousness you will not live in vain. But if you 
prize comfort and ease above the championship of Christ's 
kingdom, God will not intrust you with that spiritual 
vision which is essential in great leadership. 

Questions to Test Knowledge 

1. What assistance was given by Jeremiah to Josiah in 
carrying out his reforms? 

2. To what extent did the reforms introduced by Josiah 
change the religious and social life of the people? 

3. What political changes took place at the end of the sev- 
enth century among the nations surrounding Palestine? 

4. How much had the teaching of the false prophets to do 
with Josiah's political policy which ended in his death? 

5. What was Jeremiah's condemnation of these prophets? 

6. In what manner had the priests failed to exercise a wise 
leadership? 

7. What doctrine of Isaiah's became a source of deception 
for the nation? . 

8. To what extent did Jerusalem suffer from the Babylo- 
nians in 586 B. C? 

9. Why did the Babylonians treat Jeremiah with so much 
consideration? 

10. What future did the prophet foresee for the Hebrew 
people? 

11. What did Jeremiah contribute toward the permanence 
of Hebrew religion? 

References fob Additional Study 

Jeremiah, in "The Expositor's Bible," is a pleasing and 
profitable exposition of this prophet. 

Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 274-300. 

History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
III, Book IX, Chapters V and VI; Book X, Chapters I-IV. 



CHAPTEE XI 
JEREMIAH: PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 

The preceding chapter made clear the peril in which 
the world's religion stood during the years from the death 
of Josiah to the sack of Jerusalem in 586. The Deuter- 
onomic Code, the basis of Josiah's reform in 621, was 
nominally, at least, the stay of Judah's life. The code 
was a continuous promise of national welfare in return for 
loyalty to the Temple and its worship and the practice of 
certain humanitarian virtues. Josiah had made an earnest 
effort to conform the kingdom to this code. But Josiah 
was cut off in battle, and priests and prophets had no new 
counsel at this strange turn of affairs. The people, neg- 
lecting the code, revived the worship and the lawlessness 
of the days of Manasseh. The state was drifting steadily 
to ruin. Religion was purely a national affair, and 
Judah's religion, like Israel's, was doomed to disappear 
with the exile of her citizens. 

It was Jeremiah who divorced religion from the state 
and made it live, not in the Temple of sacrifice but in the 
soul. He taught his countrymen that the state might 
perish, and still religion could live, more vital for its di- 
vorce from its ancient external supports. In this chap- 
ter is traced the rise of spiritual and individual religion 
in Jeremiah's life and teaching. 

Jeremiah's Personal History 

Birthplace, Family, and Character. — Of Jeremiah, as 
of the other great prophets of the Hebrew people, there is 
little to be known beyond that which appears in his public 
utterances and actions. From Jeremiah 1. 1 and 29. 27 
it is known that he was born at Anathoth, a town two or 
three miles northeast of Jerusalem. He came from a 

109 



110 THE RELIGION OP JUDAH 

family of priests who owned land at Anathoth (32. 9). 
In this village Jeremiah spent his boyhood and in course 
of time might have exercised the functions of a priest. 
Apparently he took up his residence in Jerusalem at the 
time Josiah began to inaugurate his reforms. Jeremiah 
early recognized the futility of reforms carried through 
by state authority (2. 3), and his individual inheritance 
of character, responding to the political and religious con- 
ditions of the day, soon unfitted him for the priestly of- 
fice. He was passionately interested in the welfare of 
Judah. His reflections upon the conditions of the state 
deepened within him the necessity of absolute dependence 
on Jehovah. His beliefs consequently brought him into 
constant conflict with the leaders of the state. Yet 
he pursued his course unflinchingly. His own townsmen 
plotted against his life. He had no family of wife and 
children to enter sympathetically into his life. His 
career became one long, lonely martyrdom. 

Jeremiah's Call to the Prophetic Office. — Examine 1. 
4-19. The beginning of Jeremiah's prophetic ministry 
was about 626 B. C. Note the deep conviction that his 
mission is a divine appointment. Observe too the breadth 
of his parish. These two ideas — namely, that he is the 
child of destiny and that he is Jehovah's mouthpiece for 
the nations — are fundamental to the understanding of 
Jeremiah's career. Is his conviction that Jehovah had 
planned his life even before his birth a key to his un- 
swerving loyalty to his mission? Why was Jeremiah re- 
luctant to enter upon the prophetic career? Did such 
office involve personal danger? Judging from the 
prophets already studied, to what sort of career was he 
summoned? With what assurance did Jehovah overcome 
his reluctance ? What did it mean to Jeremiah to say that 
Jehovah's hand had touched his mouth, and Jehovah's 
words were in his mouth? What did his prophetic com- 
mission involve? From 1. 17-19 may it be inferred that 
Jeremiah naturally shrank from adverse criticism and 
that, knowing his message would arouse bitter adversaries, 
he trembled to follow the promptings of his soul? In 



PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 111 

what way was he fortified for his work by believing him- 
self the sent of Jehovah? 

The Training of a Prophet.— Read 15. 10-21. Jere- 
miah's straggles did not cease with his call. This experi- 
ence takes place after several years of ministry. The 
prophet had been received with bitter hostility. By his 
rebuke of the people's vain trust in the Temple he had 
aroused the opposition of priests and prophets. He had 
assailed the luxury-loving Jehoiakim and incurred the 
royal wrath. He had preached repentance, but the nation 
rushed on to its doom. His pure passion for the welfare 
of his people only alienated him from them all. Is it 
strange that he should bewail the ills of his life ? Note the 
words he uses to describe his isolation: "a man of conten- 
tion to the whole earth !" How is he treated by men? 
(15. 10). What is his prayer in 15. 15-18? What ending 
of his struggles does he crave? What is the answer to 
this prayer? (verse 20). What sacrifices has Jeremiah 
made in loyalty to his call? (verse 18). In what way has 
he found Jehovah "a deceitful brook" ? What has been the 
effect of his complaints upon his prophetic office? (verse 
19). What condition is imposed upon Jeremiah that he 
may continue his ministry? Observe that there is no 
praise for past loyalty ; the reward of service is more 
service. 

Jeremiah, loyal to his call, continued to preach that it 
was Jehovah's purpose to deliver his people into the hands 
of the Babylonians. Finally he was arrested by Pashhur, 
chief officer of the Temple (20. 1), and put into the stocks, 
where he passed the night. It is not improbable that Jere- 
miah's complaint found in 20. 7-18 followed this indig- 
nity. Remember that Jeremiah came from a conspicuous 
family, that he was a man of genius, that his prophetic 
office entitled him to confidence and respect, that he was 
conscious of seeing clearly truths hidden from his con- 
temporaries, and you will feel the hurt that Jeremiah felt 
at the indignities heaped upon him by Pashhur. Read 20. 
14-18. Note the utter sense of failure and misery which 
these words convey. Upon what and whom is the curse 



112 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

invoked? In the light of his misery and his failure to 
move Judah to repentance what is Jeremiah's meaning 
when he exclaims (20. 7) : 

"Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded; 
Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed" f 

Does he mean that Jehovah, taking advantage of his 
ignorance and weakness, has imposed the prophetic life 
upon him and so led him into wretchedness and fail- 
ure ? Observe that Jeremiah feels an irresistible compulsion 
driving him forward in his career, and that the words he 
utters are not his own. In verse 8 what is Jeremiah's sum- 
mary of his sermons ? What estimate of himself has such 
preaching formed in the multitude? Verse 9 may be 
rendered thus: 

"If I say I will not think upon his word 
Nor speak any more in his name, 
Then my heart burns with a consuming fire, 
And I weary with restraining his commands" 

However painful the prophetic office becomes, Jeremiah 
cannot turn aside from his lifework. Chosen before birth, 
divinely appointed to preach a spiritual religion to a ma- 
terialistically minded people, seeing no end of Judah's 
blindness but the destruction of the state, his very words 
put into his mouth, his rejection of his commission frus- 
trated by a torturing fire in his heart making silence im- 
possible, Jeremiah is driven through the loneliest struggle 
by the consciousness of the impelling will of Jehovah. 
This is Jeremiah's Gethsemane. But this conviction that 
he is the sent of Jehovah upholds him and gives him his 
sense of security in the face of utmost danger from his 
fellow men. Read 20. 11, 12. See also 26. 8-15. 

The Isolation of His Life. — Bearing in mind Jere- 
miah's conception of worship, his demands for ethical 
relations among men, and his continued predictions that 
Judah must succumb to the Babylonians, one clearly sees 
that Jeremiah was isolated from his world. Read 11. 
18-22; 15. 10, 17, 18; 16. 1-3, 5-9; 18. 18-20; 20. 10; 22. 






PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 113 

13-19; 26. 8, 9, and state individuals and the modes of 
life with which Jeremiah had no fellowship. What was 
the cause of such isolation? Judging from the references 
already studied, what was the general effect of this lone- 
liness and isolation upon Jeremiah's life? What did his 
personal history contribute to the development of religion ? 

Jeremiah's Conception of Religion 

His Attitude to Ritual and Animal Sacrifice. — Read 
Jeremiah 11. 1-8. Here Jeremiah appears an ardent 
preacher of the Deuteronomic Code. There was much in 
it with which Jeremiah would sympathize, but there was 
much, too, which he condemned. It is not improbable that 
at first he welcomed the code as an approximation toward 
spiritual religion, but when he saw that its more spiritual 
provisions were ignored he became aware of the futility of 
all legislation to reform the individual and society's insti- 
tutions. Read 8. 4-9. If this section refers to the Deuter- 
onomic Code, Jeremiah believes that the code's emphasis 
upon ritual falsely represents the true demands of Jeho- 
vah. Jeremiah's position is made clearer in 7. 21-23. 
Looking at the Temple ritual of his day, and reflecting 
upon the whole history of sacrifice, and measuring the 
religious life of which the ritual of sacrifice was an ex- 
pression by the religion he had come to know in his own 
life, Jeremiah felt sure that sacrifice could have been no 
part of the original covenant at Sinai. In this view we 
know that he is largely correct. We have seen how large 
a part of Israel's forms of worship, even those approved 
by the Deuteronomic Code and the Book of the Covenant, 
is a Canaanitish borrowing. But occasional animal sacri- 
fices are offered by nomadic peoples, and it is quite prob- 
able that animal sacrifice was performed at times of 
crisis and to seal the covenant at Sinai. See Exodus 18. 
12; 24. 5-8. But Jeremiah's position that Jehovah does 
not care or no longer cares for the sacrificial system, that 
he now demands a more spiritual worship, is indeed a 
triumph of true religion. 

Examine 2. 8 ; 9. 3-6 and observe that Jeremiah declares 



114 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

that Judah does not know Jehovah. What does Jere- 
miah mean by knowing Jehovah? See 22. 15, 16. Ob- 
serve too that Judah's ills will never cease until the people 
have a heart to know Jehovah (24. 7). 

The New Covenant. — So Jeremiah turns from the wor- 
ship of his times, which makes no great demands upon 
the ethical life, to insist upon that true vision of Jehovah 
which will transform religion from external forms into a 
comradeship with Jehovah expressed in love and ethical 
conduct. He demands in Jehovah's name not an out- 
ward sign of an ancient covenant (4. 4) but an inner 
cleansing of life. Purity and integrity of life are the true 
signs that men have entered into covenant with God. The 
sacrificial system (7. 21-23) obscures the character of God 
and is no expression of his demands. Study 29. 11-17. 
Observe the requirements Jehovah asks from the exiles. 
What conception of religion is here involved? Read 3. 
16 and state Jeremiah's attitude toward the ark of the 
covenant. Read again 7. 3-15 and observe that the Temple 
is no security of the nation's life; but, on the contrary, it 
is to be swept away with the whole conception of worship 
which it represents. 

Jeremiah's insistence that religion is an ethical com- 
merce of man and God climaxes in his "new covenant." 
Examine attentively 31. 31-34. What was the first cove- 
nant? When was it made? Who were the contracting 
parties? What did the first covenant demand from the 
people? What did it promise on the part of Jehovah? 
See 7. 22, 23. What had been the history of this covenant ? 
May it be inferred from 31. 33, 34 that in the thought of 
Jeremiah the characteristic marks of the old covenant were 

(1) that its terms were formulated in definite laws, and 

(2) that these laws were interpreted and enforced by re- 
ligious teachers and authorities? Would Jeremiah have 
said that there were two fundamental defects in the old 
bond between Jehovah and his people — namely: (1) that 
its chief demand was conformity to certain definite com- 
mands, partly ethical and largely ritual, and, therefore, 
did not touch heartily the springs of life and conduct? 



PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 115 

(2) and that, being national and not individual, the in- 
dividual's life was not motived sufficiently? While Jere- 
miah does not definitely refer to the Book of the Covenant 
and to the Deuteronomic Code he undoubtedly regarded 
these as expansions of the Sinaitic covenant and felt that 
the same weakness attached to them. Does Jeremiah now 
regard this old covenant abrogated? 

Does Jeremiah regard all past achievements of religion 
abrogated or does he mean that the formal covenant idea 
cannot secure a spiritual and ethical life? The 
Deuteronomic Code aimed at transforming Judah's 
religion into a spiritual fellowship with Jehovah 
and into ethical relations with men. Jeremiah's 
contention is that no legislation, no stress of formal wor- 
ship, can secure these ends; that religion is essentially a 
commerce between man and God ; and that such fellowship 
cannot be codified. Commit to memory these beautiful 
lines, which sum up Jeremiah's conception of religion as 
fellowship between man and deity unmediated by priest 
and sacrifice: 

r*j will put my teaching in their breast, and I will write it 
on their hearts. 
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
They will teach no more every man his neighbor, 
And every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; 
For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the 

greatest: 
For I will forgive their iniquities, and their sins will I 
remember no more/' (Jeremiah 31. S3, 34.) 

The Individual Aspect of Religion. — This very concep- 
tion of spiritual religion individualized it. The student 
will recall that worship in the past was an affair of sacri- 
fice, in which the family participated (1 Samuel 1. 1-8; 
20. 28, 29). As long as worship was wholly expressed 
in ritual, the individual could scarcely think of Jehovah's 
having dealings with him apart from his clan. Sin and 
guilt also had their meaning in this solidarity of life. If 
the student will read the account of Achan's transgression 



116 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

(Joshua 7* 16-26) or the slaughter of the priests at 
Nob (1 Samuel 22. 16-19) he will see how deeply rooted 
was the clan conception of guilt and sin. Beginnings had 
been made in the administration of justice (2 Kings 14. 
5, 6; Deuteronomy 24. 16), in the change to individ- 
ualistic responsibility, but it remained to Jeremiah to 
establish that the loftiest conception of religion demands 
an individualizing of mankind's relation to God. No 
doubt at times this principle has been stressed to the neg- 
lect of the social aspects of religion; but fundamentally 
religion at last roots in the individual soul. Eead 31. 29 
and state the words Jeremiah here uses to individualize 
guilt. Examine his prayers in 15. 15-18; 17. 14-18 and 
observe that in Jeremiah's life the meaning of religion has 
passed from nationalism to individualism. Eead the psalm 
found in 17. 5-8. Here too it is the individual, and not 
the community, with whom religion is concerned. 

Jeremiah and Ourselves 

It would be difficult to overestimate Jeremiah's services 
to religion. The immediate effect of his labors was small 
indeed. He was the loneliest of men. His conceptions of 
religion isolated him from his people; his patriotism, 
which exalted righteousness above national existence, made 
him obnoxious to the rulers. His life was one long mar- 
tyrdom. Yet after Judah succumbed to the Babylonian, 
the exiles remembered his teaching and his life and they 
passed from despair to hope. He had shown that religion 
could live without the support of the state, had shown 
that it must live in the individual soul. He became for 
them the star of dawn. Jeremiah, too, set the pattern of 
future piety. He made possible the Psalms, which have 
comforted the world. Of all Old-Testament teachers he 
most makes us think of Christ. 

Think how frequently a great soul is a lonely soul. Pass 
them before you: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah; 
how many of their contemporaries were their intimate 
associates? How few there are who have understood 
Jesus! Not one of his disciples fully entered into his 



PEGPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 117 

ideals. Paul did not clearly comprehend him. Few of 
us to-day are brave enough to live with him. We hedge 
at his commands; we say his ideals are impracticable; 
•we let him live alone. Do not expect many great friend- 
ships. To possess a multitude of intimate friends in this 
day means that you are not living a profoundly spiritual 
and intellectually endowed life. Even if it narrows your 
intimacies, covet a great life. 

Jeremiah abated no jot of his idealism to conform to 
the demands of a practical state. Civilization is never 
permanently enriched by your "practical" men. Such 
men live for manufacture and trade. They suppose that 
banks, railways, and mines are the chief factors of civil- 
ization. It is its idealism, not its business, which pre- 
serves a state. "Seek first the kingdom" is the com- 
manding advice of life's Master. 

It is a mere incident in our memory of Jeremiah that he 
owned a farm at Anathoth; the main thing is his piety. 
In the midst of a toppling state he was not overthrown 
with the ruined capital. His life was not identified with 
the Temple, palace, market, or defended walls. When 
these fell, there was nothing in him which they could drag 
down. He had learned to know Jehovah; he feared no 
destruction ; he felt himself secure in the face of the crud- 
est disaster. Oh, that we might learn to find our wealth, 
our fame, our success, in our fellowship with God ! There 
could be then no ruined hopes, no blasted lives, no starless 
despair. 

In religion, as in every other department of human life, 
the greatest achievement is won through association. Jesus 
alone could not establish his kingdom. The most devoted 
and heroic Christian does not constitute a church. But 
the life that is lived together is lived primarily by in- 
dividuals. The morality of a family is the morality of 
individuals living in the family. The religion of a church 
or a community is the religion of the individuals in the 
social group. Religion, in the last analysis, is the life of 
an individual. The more true, moral, and intense this 
life is, the more vigorous and effective is the religion of 



118 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

the community. Religion is individual before it is social. 
Until individuals are redeemed, society is not secure. 
Social movements are individuals with similar interests 
and passions acting together. The phenomena of social 
action never must obscure the fact that in its final analysis 
life is lived by individuals. 

Themes fob Class Discussion 

1. The ease with which idolatrous worship reappeared in 
Judah after the death of Josiah indicates that the abolition of 
the local sanctuaries was not a popular reform. State what 
this change must have meant to the inhabitants of the rural 
towns and villages. 1 

2. Jeremiah does not tell us why he did not become a priest. 
State the reasons that may have led him to break with the 
traditional employment of his fathers. 

3. What considerations should determine any man in the 
choice of his lifework? 

4. What are the defects and disadvantages of a state re- 
ligion? 

5. What were the essential features of the covenant between 
the Hebrews and Jehovah? 2 

6. What were the basic ideas in Jeremiah's new covenant? 

7. To what extent is religion individual? social? 

8. Why a.T2 great men apt to be lonely? 

Selected Readings 

The Religion of Israel, Smith, Chapter IX. 

The Prophets of Israel, Cornhill, the chapter devoted to 
Jeremiah. 

Hebrew Religion, Addis, pages 194-206. 

Article "Jeremiah," Sections I and VI, Dictionary of the 
Bible, Hastings. 



^Folklore in the Old Testament, Frazier, Volume III, pages 105-7. 
3 The Religion of Israel, Ascham, Chapter VIII. 



CHAPTEE XII 

EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO THE HOUSE OF 
ISEAEL 

Ezekiel was one of the leading citizens of Jerusalem 
carried captive with King Jehoiachin to Babylon in 597 
B. C. These captives were settled at Tel-abib by the 
Kabaru Canal (Ezekiel 3. 15). Ezekiel was a priest of 
the family of Zadok. After five years in Babylon he felt 
called to the prophetic ministry. From this time until 
the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B. C. he followed the 
usual course of the prophets in denouncing the sins of his 
people. Their sinfulness, he believed, was leading the 
nation to destruction. He became the interpreter of pass- 
ing events to his fellow exiles. These Hebrews, who had 
suffered deportation in 597, kept in closest possible touch 
with Jerusalem and watched the course pursued by the 
leaders in Judah with deepest concern. It was EzekiePs 
mission, like Jeremiah's, to proclaim that city and state 
would be destroyed. He seems to have been a leader among 
the exiles, was often consulted, and must have performed 
an important service in adjusting the exiles to their afflic- 
tions and the approaching destruction of Jerusalem. 

After the city fell, in 586, Ezekiel ceased to denounce 
the sins of his people and became a preacher of hope. He 
united in himself the functions of both priest and prophet, 
but in his earlier sermons the prophetic outlook dominated. 
All the prophecies examined in this chapter were uttered 
between 592 and 586 B. C. 

Ezekiei/s Call to the Peophetio Office 

Eead Ezekiel, chapter 1. Observe that Ezekiel, as Jere- 
miah and Isaiah, is summoned by a vision that impresses 
him with the glory and majesty of Jehovah. It may not 
be possible to form a mental picture of these living crea^ 

119 



120 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

tures, wheels, the throne, and its occupant; but the reader 
will mark certain of Ezekiel's dominant ideas: Jehovah 
is no longer enthroned in Jerusalem; he dwells upon a 
celestial throne, which brings him near the exiles. Note 
the effect of this vision upon Ezekiel. Eead closely 2. 
1-7. Who is the speaker in 2. 1? Observe how com- 
pletely Ezekiel is directed and upheld by Jehovah. What 
is to be understood by the title "Son of man"? What is 
the characteristic feature of Israel's history? (Here- 
after "Israel" will be used of the Hebrew people without 
reference to the divided kingdoms.) Observe that the 
essence of the prophetic career is in the words "thus saith 
Jehovah." Ezekiel is authorized and enjoined to speak 
with such authority. Is this conviction of being sent 
of Jehovah characteristic of all the prophets whom we 
have studied ? In what way are the dangers of his mission 
symbolized? Observe this: his commission binds him to 
utterance, whether or not the people give heed to his mes- 



Study 2. 8 to 3. 3. In what way is Ezekiel prepared 
for this ministry? What were the contents of this book? 
How does this conception of the prophet's message com- 
pare with the sermons delivered by earlier prophets ? Why 
was the roll sweet to Ezekiel? Eead 3. 4-11. In what 
words does Ezekiel estimate the difficulty of his mission? 
the probable results? What is his conception of the char- 
acter of the Hebrew state ? Unto whom was he to deliver 
Jehovah's messages ? Study 3. 12-27. Although it is not 
stated, we may suppose that Ezekiel in his vision places 
himself in Jerusalem at the time of his call; then, at the 
acceptance of the call, "the glory of Jehovah [rose] from 
his place" (verse 12) and brought him among the 
captives at Tel-abib. It is not unlikely that Ezekiel in- 
tends here to proclaim that Jehovah has departed from 
Jerusalem. What is the chief duty of a watchman to the 
house of Israel? Note the overwhelming sense of the 
prophet's responsibility. Observe that the nation is here 
broken up into its individual constituents : The righteous 
are righteous individuals, and the wicked no longer is a 



EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 121 

guilty nation, but are wicked citizens and exiles. Note 
that the wicked are to have warning before punishment 
falls upon them. Ezekiel feels himself solemnly set apart 
to the awful responsibility of this task of warning. Ob- 
serve especially 3. 20. What is the source of tempta- 
tion? What remembrance of the righteous man's life is 
possible at this stage of Hebrew religion? Note (3. 23) 
EzekiePs profound sense of the majesty of Jehovah. What 
do the words "the glory of Jehovah stood there" mean? 
Observe that at the very threshold of his ministry Ezekiel 
is restrained from an extensive public ministry. What 
reason is given for confining his mission to those who may 
visit him at his home? 

The Sins and Approaching Disasters of Judah 

Jehovah's Rejection of Jerusalem. — Read Ezekiel 4. 1 
to 5. 17. In what ways did Ezekiel proclaim to the first 
exiles that they must not expect the continuance of the 
Judaean state? Undoubtedly these first exiles, despite 
Jeremiah's warning (chapter 29), looked for a speedy 
return to Jerusalem. Ezekiel seeks to prepare them for 
the certain fate that hangs over* the city. These acted 
sermons must have deeply impressed his auditors. What 
accusation is brought against Jerusalem? (5. 6, 7, 11). 
Has Ezekiel's residence in Babylonia revealed to him a 
higher morality than was to be found in Jerusalem? 
What is the judgment upon the guilty city? Note espe- 
cially the predicted horrors of the siege (5. 10). See 
also Jeremiah 19. 9; Deuteronomy 28. 53; 2 Kings 6. 28. 
What shall become of the city's inhabitants? 

The judgment upon Jerusalem is further described in 
8. 1 to 11. 12. What indication is given here of Ezekiel's 
position among the exiles? Read closely these accounts 
of the heathen cults practiced in Jerusalem. After all 
the preaching of the prophets the nation, heedless of every 
attempt at spiritualizing its religion, is plunging on to 
its doom. What are these heathen practices? (1) The 
image of jealousy (8. 3) — that is, the image, or an 
asherah, of another deity, which provokes Jehovah to 



122 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

jealousy. Observe attentively the question in 8. 6. Je- 
hovah proposes to abandon his sanctuary at Jerusalem. 
This is extremely significant. It is EzekiePs way of ac- 
counting for the destruction of Jerusalem. Jehovah him- 
self has decreed its destruction. (2) A mystery cult 
consisting of the worship of animals. What representa- 
tions were on the walls? Of what did the worship con- 
sist? What hint is there of its popularity? Had Israel 
worshiped animal forms previously? (3) The Tam- 
muz worship. Tammuz was a Babylonian deity, whose 
descent into the lower world and resurrection were cele- 
brated far and wide in the ancient world. It was at 
the summer solstice that Tammuz died and at the turn 
of the winter that he rose again. His festival was cele- 
brated at the summer solstice by litanies of mourning. 
At this season the "death of vegetation and the cessation 
of generation is mourned." 1 (4) The sun worship. What 
details are given? Why does Ezekiel consider this a 
greater abomination than the preceding rites ? 

Note attentively the impressive fate of Jerusalem. Je- 
hovah is furious at these abominations and will have no 
pity (8. 18). Those who defile the city are slain with 
the sword. Beginning at the Temple, there is no one with 
the mark of a mourner over the nation's sins (9. 4), and 
Ezekiel is left alone in the midst of the Temple strewn 
with the dead. From the burning city Jehovah rises 
in glory and departs finally from his ancient sanctuary. 

The Cause of the Nation's Blindness. — It would seem 
that such preaching would have taken away every hope 
among the exiles that Jerusalem would be spared. But 
there were doubters enough, and Ezekiel was compelled 
to preach on until the city fell. Eead 12. 1-20. What 
symbolically acted sermon is here recorded? What ex- 
pression of the popular disbelief in Ezekiel's prediction 
is given in 12. 22? What did Ezekiel conceive to be the 
source of this popular skepticism? Note that the "false 
prophets" use the customary prophetic formula "Thus 

1 See The Old Testament in the Light of the Ancient East, Jeremias, Volume 1, 
96/., 125/. 



EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 123 

saith Jehovah/' What chance had the people of discern- 
ing the true future under such equally emphatic divided 
counsels? Consider the genius and the faith which sepa- 
rated Jeremiah and Ezekiel from this crowd of mistaken 
prophets. Examine Habakkuk, chapters 1 and 2. Here 
are expressed prophetic views of the relation of Jehovah 
to his people, which were denounced by Jeremiah and 
Ezekiel. 

Ezekiel's Historical Perspective. — In considering Is- 
rael's sins Ezekiel takes a position more condemnatory 
than any of his predecessors. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and 
Jeremiah regarded Israel's sins as a defection from Je- 
hovah. In the earliest period there had been loyalty to 
him; but after entrance into Palestine the earlier wor- 
ship was corrupted by Canaanitish practices. Ezekiel re- 
gards their unfaithfulness as characteristic of Hebrew 
life from the beginning. The whole history of Israel is 
a story of a rebellious people. Eead chapter 16 for Eze- 
kiel's reading of Israel's life. Note (16. 3) that in Eze- 
kiel's opinion the nation was born from Canaanitish hea- 
thenism. He neglects or rejects all patriarchal narratives. 
We have seen that while the worship of the days of the 
judges and of the monarchy was a mingled worship of 
nomadic practices and the beliefs and customs of the 
Canaanitish agricultural communities, the people of these 
earlier times were not aware of any settled disloyalty to 
Jehovah. 1 The view of Hebrew history here presented is 
not a correct reading of Israel's past; the more spiritual 
views of a later age are supposed to have existed in the 
earlier period, and any departure from this loftier con- 
ception of religion is credited to the earlier times as 
apostasy. Examine also chapter 20. Note the disloyalty 
with which Israel is charged. Have we had any hint that 
the charge of 20. 7, 8 is true? To what extent did Egyp- 
tian beliefs and practices influence the religion of Israel? 
Was the conception of the Sabbath as clearly defined in 
the wilderness period as Ezekiel implies? Observe that 



* The Religion of Israel, Ascham, Chapter XII. 



124 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

in earlier references to the Sabbath it is no more sacred 
than the day of the new moon (Amos 8. 5 ; Hosea 2. 11 ; 
Isaiah 1. 13). Both seemed to have been kept by cessation 
from labor and by feasting at the sanctuaries, which fre- 
quently eventuated in licentiousness. The strict theistic 
philosophy of Ezekiel is noteworthy. Examine 20. 25, 
26 and state EzekiePs position concerning past legislation, 
which Israelites had accepted as divinely ordered. Bead 
22. 1-13, 25-29. Of what sins does Ezekiel accuse Jeru- 
salem? What additional faults are catalogued in 18. 
1-20? 

Ezekiei/s Outlook for the Future 

Eead carefully 11. 13-25. Note that the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem think that the exiles carried to Babylon in 
597, together with the exiles of the northern kingdom 
taken captive in 722, are far from Jehovah. What is Eze- 
kiePs thought of this? (verse 16). What does he mean 
by saying Jehovah is a sanctuary for the exiles? What 
is Jehovah's plan for these exiles? What changes of wor- 
ship will occur? In what way are the loyalty and per- 
manence of the future state secured? Read 17. 22-24. 
Observe that Ezekiel here expects the Hebrew monarchy 
to be restored in Palestine, and that a prince of the house 
of David is to be king. Read 20. 39-44. You will note 
that Ezekiel here contemplates a return of the exiles to 
Palestine. What suggestion of the new order of life is 
given? Observe that the essence of the new state is that 
the people will know Jehovah. Read Ezekiel's outburst 
against Zedekiah in 21. 24-27 and observe the expres- 
sion concerning Zedekiah's lost crown: "until he come 
whose right it is; and I will give it him." Ezekiel fully 
contemplates that the returned exiles will be ruled by a 
Messianic prince. 

Easy Paths to Ezekiel 

He was a prophet among the exiles in Babylonia. To 
clear their minds of false hopes, to awaken them to a sense 



EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 125 

of sin and righteousness, and to show them the one possi- 
ble way of return to Jerusalem was no slight ministry. 

That Jehovah religion survived the nation's fall is due 
in large measure to Ezekiel. The Hebrews who fled to 
Egypt, carrying Jeremiah with them, play no part in the 
future development of Israel's religion. That the Baby- 
lonian exiles did not yield to the religion of their con- 
querors is due mainly to the patient, intense, and continu- 
ous ministry of Ezekiel. 

He accomplished this task through the strength of a 
few overmastering convictions: (1) Jehovah is the abso- 
lute Sovereign not only of Israel but of the world. He 
has a program of righteousness. This righteousness ap- 
pears in human society as justice, decency, and humanity 
among individuals and a nonlicentious, nonidolatrous, and 
unwavering worship of Jehovah. (2) Israel's history has 
not revealed this order of life. It has been a continuous 
rebellion. There is nothing left for Jehovah but to de- 
stroy the nation. The destruction of Jerusalem is a di- 
vinely ordered event. Jehovah abandons the city to the 
arms of Nebuchadnezzar. (3) Having left his city and 
land, he becomes a sanctuary for the exiles until such 
time as he and his people again take up residence in Pales- 
tine. He may be worshiped in Babylonia. All actual 
idolatry and all longing for an idolatrous worship must be 
put away. The Sabbaths must be rigorously kept. Sin 
must cease, and the individual must seek a new spirit 
from Jehovah. (4) When idolatry has been put away, 
sin ended, and the new heart received, the new state will 
be set up in Palestine; the exiles, refined by the awful 
calamities endured, will know Jehovah ; and in such aware- 
ness of him the new order will be established and secured. 

Ezekiel was indeed a kingdom builder. In the fullest 
sense he was a watchman of the house of Israel. Stern 
moralist, abounding in faith, reliant upon God, fearless 
of foes, patient under misunderstanding, he labored to 
keep pure religion alive in the darkest hour of Israel's 
life. That the labors of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and 
Jeremiah were not in vain is due very much to Ezekiel's 



126 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

genius and his steadfastness to his vision of the things 
that ought to be. 

For Travelers to the Blessed Lands 

Have you found a shining path through the darkness of 
great afflictions to the City of Trust and Peace? Ezekiel 
saw Jehovah rising in glory from the doomed city to 
become a sanctuary in a foreign land. The Jewish San- 
hedrin handed Jesus death in a cup of God. Christ's 
grace in Paul was more than master of Satan's messenger, 
the thorn in his flesh. Tennyson discovered in the midst 
of his grief for Arthur Hallam "altar stairs" that "sloped 
through darkness up to God/' 

To be true and steadfast in a dark hour is not only to 
preserve our own soul. We are proving that the labors of 
a host of former seers and martyrs are not in vain. Had 
Ezekiel faltered, the prophetic gains of two centuries would 
have been lost. When any man is disloyal to his own ideals 
he undermines all the successes of the past. 

These studies of the prophets have emphasized the tre- 
mendous worth of the individual. It was Isaiah who in 
701 infused Jerusalem with the spirit of trust in Jeho- 
vah so that the city weathered the Assyrian storm. Jere- 
miah was the one counselor trusted, if not obeyed, in Jeru- 
salem's darkest hour. Ezekiel made it possible for true 
religion to rise from Israel's national overthrow. No man 
dares neglect the vision of trust which God has given 
him. His firmness, loyalty, and faith may be the needed 
ministry his church and community require. There never 
can be a substitute for individual initiative and boldness 
in the cause of justice, righteousness, and love. 

Let us learn from Ezekiel the supreme worth of the 
ideal. An invincible Jerusalem would have silenced the 
messages of Jeremiah. A ruined Jerusalem without an 
interpreter, likewise, would have crushed the kingdom 
of the spiritual for which Jeremiah had pleaded. Nothing 
but a spiritual genius could have preserved the exiles from 
sinking into the oblivion of the Chaldean world. This 
Jeremiah was. 



EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 127 

"It takes a soul 
To move a body; it takes a high-souled man 
To move the masses to a cleaner sty; 
It takes the ideal to blow an inch inside 
The dust of the actual." 

Certainly Mrs. Browning would have called Ezekiel one 
of the world's much-needed "high-souled" men. 

What gave Ezekiel his soul? "As I was among the 
captives, ... I saw visions of God." Is this not ever 
the experience that creates leadership in civilization? In 
whatever way this experience is mediated it consists es- 
sentially in an unshaken reliance upon the Invisible One, 
whose purposes are progressively revealed in the visible 
world. Such a conviction unfolds into a spiritual com- 
merce with him, God ceases to be a definition, a control- 
ling force, a far-off Person ; he becomes a King, a Friend, 
a Father, whose will is lofty but lovable, whose friendship 
is exalted but intimate, whose fatherliness is stern but 
choicely companionable and comforting. He becomes per- 
sonal. 

Ezekiel felt a gripping responsibility for the manner 
of life of his neighbors. This is a mark of greatness. 
Nobleness ever concerns itself with meanness. Live such 
a life that a quiet word of correction will not antagonize 
your neighbor or friend who needs reproof, but, rather, 
will stiffen his soul against evil. Many a man drifts into 
a vicious life because no one at the first offense uttered the 
corrective and restraining word. It is the duty of every- 
one to be a watchman of his community. Keep your vision 
of God shining true and you will find many a fine chance 
to repress evil and encourage righteousness. To do this 
uncarpingly is a gift of God. The rare opportunity is 
ours. 

Questions fob Students 

1. What is known of the personal life of Ezekiel? 

2. What does Ezekiel mean in saying that he is a watch- 
man unto the house of Israel? 

3. What sins are charged against Jerusalem hy Ezekiel? 
Does he list any evils unmentioned by Jeremiah? 



128 THE RELIGION" OF JUDAH 

4. In what way does Ezekiel account for the destruction of 
Jerusalem? 

5. What constitutes the teaching of the false prophets? 

6. What is Ezekiel's view of Hebrew history? To what 
extent is he correct? 

7. What is Ezekiel's view of the origin of those features of 
the sacrificial system which he condemns? 

8. What new emphasis was given to the Sabbath? Why? 

9. What was Ezekiel's expectation concerning the future of 
Judah? 

Helps fob the Mastebt of Ezekiel 

History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
III, Book X, Chapter VIII. 

The Religion of Israel, Smith, pages 196-208. 

Article "Ezekiel" in Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, 
Volume I, page 815ff. 

Ezekiel in "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges." 



CHAPTER XIII 

IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 

Preceding chapters have traced the religion of Judah 
from the division of the kingdoms to the capture and 
sack of Jerusalem 586 B. C. The devastation of the city 
by a foreign power was the most tragical experience 
through which the Hebrew people had passed, and it could 
not be other than a turning point of much moment in 
their life. It was the final blow that scattered the Jews 
far and wide from the land that had come to be regarded 
passionately as their own; an exile that, for the vast 
majority of the race, continues to this day. It was during 
the exilic years immediately following the fall of Jeru- 
salem, while the city was still in ruins, that Judaism — 
the religious beliefs and practices of the Jews against 
which Christianity was a reaction — took its rise. The 
present chapter exhibits something of the life of those 
first exilic years, the effect upon them of the fall of Jeru- 
salem, and their religious life under the changed conditions. 

The Fortunes of the Jews in Egypt 

Eead 2 Kings 25. 26 and Jeremiah 43 for the with- 
drawal into Egypt of the Jews who had slain Gedaliah, 
together with others who feared the vengeance of Baby- 
lonia. The language in Jeremiah 43. 6 intimates that 
Jeremiah was carried forcibly with these exiles. The 
lesson of Jerusalem's destruction was lost upon these 
refugees. Jerusalem had fallen because of its idolatry 
(44. 5, 6), but the exiles, untaught by this calamity, con- 
tinued to practice these foreign rites (44. 7, 15-19). 
What were these practices? What was the popular ex- 
planation of their calamities ? Does this attitude of these 
Egyptian exiles explain their apparent failure to con- 
tribute to the future development of Israel's religion? 

129 



130 THE KELIGION OF JTJDAH 

What future does Jeremiah promise his obdurate country- 
men (44. 26-28) ? Excavations in recent years indicate 
that the Jews in Egypt, instead of being destroyed, con- 
tinued to increase in numbers. One of these Jewish settle- 
ments was on the island of Elephantine, near the present 
Assuan. They formed a prosperous community in the 
midst of their Egyptian neighbors, had their temple to 
Jehovah, their own law courts, and practiced their own 
customs. As we shall see in later chapters, the Jews in 
Egypt continued to multiply until they far outnumbered 
their brethren in Palestine. They seem, however, to have 
had little direct influence upon the rise and development 
of Judaism. 

Jerusalem and Judah During the Exile 

Whatever may have been the number of the Jews who 
fled into Egypt and were carried into Babylonia, a large 
majority were left in the villages and dismantled towns 
of Judah. Those who remained in the land were for the 
most part the poorer peasantry (2 Kings 25. 12), and 
these humble inhabitants easily mingled with the 
Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, and Philistines who 
pressed into the desolated country. In the course of years 
intermarriages occurred, and the worship of Jehovah, 
which lingered for a time, became more and more degen- 
erate, until it was repudiated by the returning exiles. 
Jerusalem itself was left desolate (2 Kings 25. 9-11). 
The destruction was intended by the Babylonians to ren- 
der the place uninhabitable. The Temple, palaces, and 
walls were thrown down, and the city, as much of it as was 
possible, was burned. 

Yet the ruined city, at least for a time, continued to be 
regarded by the Jews as their holy city. Worshipers took 
their mournful way to the sacred site to offer their sacri- 
fices (Jeremiah 41. 5). Doubtless there were priests who 
directed and encouraged this worship. Ezekiel (33. 23- 
29) expresses his conviction that the Jews left in Pales- 
tine, although they outnumber the exiles, cannot again 
build up Jewish civilization. They worship idols, commit 



IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 131 

acts of violence, do not observe the ceremonial laws in the 
killing of animals, and make unlawful marriages. Eze- 
kiel expects that these Jews will be utterly extinguished. 
Jeremiah's assertion that the land is without inhabitants 
(44. 22) does not correspond to the probable and known 
facts. Both prophets, however, expected little from those 
who were living in the desolate villages and towns, which 
were infected with the same abominations that had pro- 
voked the destruction of the city. Little could be expected 
from those who dwelt in "strongholds and caves." 

The Exiles in Babylonia 

The true succession of Israel's history and religion rests 
with the Babylonian exiles. But the course of higher re- 
ligion advanced against heavy odds. There was little op- 
pression of the exiles. As in Egypt, they lived in their 
own self-governing communities. There were opportuni- 
ties of agriculture and trade, and wealth multiplied. 
Added to these physical inducements to forget their past 
home, the belief was prevalent that Jehovah had forsaken 
his land and retired to some distant northern throne 
(Isaiah 14. 13 ; Ezekiel 1. 4). Many of the exiles, consider- 
ing the fate of Samaria, must have given up hope of a 
return to Palestine. It was the task of the clearer-visioned 
to encourage their countrymen to interpret the past ca- 
lamities and to awaken hope of a restoration to the land 
of their fathers. 

Depression and Despair of the Exiles. — Lamentations, 
chapters 2 and 4, were written by one of the Babylonian 
exiles in the years immediately following the destruction 
of Jerusalem. Eead 2. 1-10. Note the desolation that 
has befallen Jerusalem : "A cloud" covers "the daughter of 
Zion," "the beauty of Israel" is "cast down," her palaces 
are "swallowed up," the city's gates are sunk in the ground, 
the Temple is destroyed. Observe in these and in similar 
expressions the writer's passion for the city and Temple. 
Have we met this love for Jerusalem and the sanctuary 
in any previous study? Who is the author of this ca- 
lamity? Observe the respect for the king. What is the 



132 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

effect of this catastrophe upon the exiles? (2. 6, 9, 10). 
Observe especially what is said in 2. 10 about the prophets. 
These are the "false prophets" of whom we have studied 
in earlier lessons. Why are they now visionless? What 
has occasioned this terrible blow from Jehovah ? Consider 
here 2. 14 and reflect whether the writer was not one of 
those who, before the city fell, believed in the attitude and 
message not of Jeremiah but of the "false prophets." 
This song reflects the transition from the old popular 
conception of the relation of Jehovah and Israel to the 
ideals of the great prophets, especially Jeremiah and Eze- 
kiel, who declare this relation to be ethical, and, therefore, 
that nothing but righteousness on the part of the people 
would insure its continuance. To was this view that Je- 
hovah himself "swallowed up Israel," not the nation's con- 
querors, which saved ethical religion from perishing from 
the earth. 

Lamentations 4 pursues the same theme. There are 
striking touches of the horror of the siege and sack of 
Jerusalem. Does the author specify the sins that have 
provoked Jehovah to punish the state? What makes the 
writer so sure of his statement in 4. 22 concerning the 
Hebrew exiles? Examine closely these two dirges and 
consider the author's expectation of Israel's restoration to 
Palestine. 

The author of Psalm 137 probably witnessed the de- 
struction of Jerusalem and was carried to Babylon in 586. 
Note here, too, the affection for Jerusalem, even in her 
ruins; the feeling that Jehovah cannot be worshiped in 
Babylonia; and the hope of punishment for their con- 
querors. Would you say this Psalm breathes the despair 
of a hopeless exile? There are, perhaps, other Psalms 
springing from the drear experiences of the Exile, but the 
historical background of these songs of piety is usually so 
dimly sketched that they cannot be used confidently for 
this period. 

Ezekiel's Prediction of a Judgment of Nations. — Eze- 
kiel at no time experienced the hopelessness of the writers 
of these dirges. He believed in a restoration to Palestine. 



IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 133 

He believed that the first step in Jehovah's program of 
restoration would be the punishment of the nation that 
had contributed to or rejoiced at Jerusalem's downfall. 
There is not space enough to study Ezekiel's denunciation 
of these nations, but the earnest student will wish to read 
them. 

(a) Ammon (25. 1-7); Moab (25. 8-11); Edom (25. 
12-1 k) ; Philistines (25. 15-17). — These peoples are to be 
devastated because they have exulted and, in the case of 
Edom, assisted at the downfall of Judah. The defense- 
less condition of Judah was Edom's opportunity to re- 
venge itself against the Hebrew. The more fertile ter- 
ritory of Judah attracted the Edomites, and after the fall 
of Jerusalem they pressed into southern Palestine, seized 
the land, and harried the people. Ezekiel 35 is a second 
doom pronounced by the prophet against this nation. In 
35. 10 Ezekiel claims that the devastated country is still 
Jehovah's country and under his immediate care. 

(b) Tyre and Sidon (26-28).— Tyre is to be utterly de- 
stroyed because it rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem. The student should read at least 26. 3-6. (The 
daughters of Tyre in verse 6 are the city's outlying vil- 
lages.) Bead especially 28. 25, 26 for the definite state- 
ment that judgment first must fall upon all those nations 
which have done Israel despite before Jehovah will return 
the people to their and his land. 

(c) Egypt (Ezekiel 29).— What is the sin of Egypt? 
(29. 3, 6, 9). Observe that the punishment of Egypt is 
exile (29. 12), and that, although a restoration is prom- 
ised (29. 13), the nation henceforth will play a common- 
place role. A little more than sixteen years lie between 
29. 1-6 and 29. 17-21. Note the latter section, in which 
Ezekiel acknowledges that his prediction of the destruc- 
tion of Tyre was not fulfilled. However, he stills clings 
to his belief in the destruction of Egypt; but subsequent 
history did not carry out Ezekiel's expectations. 

Ezekiel Promises a Return of the Exiles to Jerusalem. 
— Jehovah indeed had destroyed Jerusalem, but he pur- 
posed likewise to restore his scattered people to their land. 



134 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

(a) EzeTciel SJf. — Greedy shepherds — that is, princes, 
priests, and prophets — have slain and scattered the flock, 
Israel. Jehovah, the Good Shepherd, will gather the sheep 
from distant hill and mountain and bring them again to 
their pasturages in Palestine. Observe especially 34. 23- 
31. What very important details of the restored nation 
are given? 

(b) EzeTciel 36 is a magnificent prophecy of restoration. 
Observe especially 36. 16-21, stating that Judah's calami- 
ties are well deserved, and 36. 22-32, which declares that 
the return to Palestine is determined, but not because of 
the people's merits. What motive moves Jehovah to this 
restoration? What assurance is given that the people 
hereafter will be able to merit this mercy of Jehovah? 
Observe that Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, sees that the springs 
of genuine ethical religion are in the soul of man. Note 
that, after the restoration and the enjoyment 'of the new 
blessings, a new vision of their iniquitous past will insure 
their loyalty to Jehovah (36. 31). An experience of 
Jehovah's mercy will deepen the consciousness of sin. 

(c) EzeTciel 37. — A prophecy of the resurrection of the 
nation. Again Ezekiel seeks to awaken the hopes of his 
fellow exiles. He concedes that the nation is dead in the 
scattered sons of Israel. But Jehovah is not limited by 
such disaster. Dry bones can be brought to life when he 
wills. Observe (verse 11) that these dead are not individ- 
uals in their graves, but the symbol of the hopelessness of 
the living exiles. The graves of verses 12, 13 are likewise a 
similar figure of speech. Note also that Ezekiel expects 
the exiles of the northern kingdom to share in this restora- 
tion. Ezekiel must have known of descendants of the 
Samaritan exiles, who might share in the return. The 
scattered peoples of both kingdoms are to be united into 
one nation. What details of the new kingdom are given 
in verses 24-28 ? 

The Destruction of the Babylonians Predicted. — Eead 
Isaiah, chapters 13 and 14. Ezekiel appears never to have 
predicted the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire; and as 
time passed, the hopes he had awakened were mingled with 



IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 135 

gloom. It became evident that the Babylonian policy 
contemplated no rebuilding of the Hebrew state. At the 
same time there was evidently a growing weakness in the 
Babylonian kingdom. These two facts stimulated the 
prophets to predict the downfall of Babylonia as a neces- 
sary prelude of the restoration of the Hebrew nation. 

Babylon was captured by the Persians under Cyrus in 
538 B. C. These chapters apparently are from an unknown 
prophet a few years before the capture of Babylon. .Ob- 
serve that Jehovah is marshaling an army not of Jews but 
of aliens to devastate Babylon (13. 2-5). These alien hosts 
are his "consecrated ones." They are assembling in the 
mountains, and their hosts, marching upon Babylon, will 
strike consternation and dismay into the proud Baby- 
lonians, who have devastated Jehovah's city and carried 
his people captive. The mountains are the land of Media, 
from conquering which Cyrus led his armies into Baby- 
lonia. The day of Jehovah (13. 9-22) is a time of dire 
and overwhelming judgment upon Babylonia. These 
"sinners" of Babylon are so wicked that the whole world 
must surfer for their iniquity. 

"I will make the heavens to tremble, 
And the earth shall be shaken out of its place/ 9 

(IS. 13.) 

Here we meet the beginnings of the apocalyptic literature 
which figures so largely in later Messianic prophecies. 
Notice the fierce cruelty that the prophet believes the 
Babylonians will surfer : men thrust through by the sword, 
children dashed in pieces, and women ravished. The per- 
manent desolation of the city is assured. It shall be the 
abode of satyrs, wolves, and jackals. Cyrus, contrary to 
this prophet's expectation, seems to have treated Babylon 
with unusual consideration. The city was not destroyed, 
and the inhabitants were not dealt with harshly. 

Isaiah 14. 9-23 possesses exceeding interest. It is one 
of the earliest references in the Old-Testament literature 
to life after death. Human beings who die pass into an 
underworld deep below the surface of the earth where 



136 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

they have acted their noble or unworthy parts. The de- 
scent of the Babylonian king, the great oppressor of na- 
tions, as this prophet regards him, stirs the whole under- 
world into excitement. His fellow kings of the past re- 
mind him of his weakness and rejoice at his humiliation. 
They assure him that nothing less than "the uttermost 
parts of the pit" await him who would not "loose his 
prisoners to their home" (14. 17). They reproach him, 
too, that his body has not had honorable burial (14. 19). 
With this description of the underworld should be com- 
pared EzekiePs judgment of the nations (32. 18-32), in 
which the dead of various nations are grouped together 
in Hades. The more culpable nations, from Ezekiel's 
point of view, occupy the lower depths of the underworld. 
In both these passages there is no conception of individual 
immortality with moral awards according to life on earth. 
The immortality is group immortality, and life after death 
is conceived for all in gloomy terms. 

Summaey 

The wonder grows that the destruction of Jerusalem did 
not silence the worship of Jehovah and end the rise of 
ethical religion in the world. This lesson sets before us 
the critical situation of the kingdom of God at this period 
of the world's history. Palestine, though not stripped of 
Hebrews, ceased to develop the religion of the fathers. 
The contribution to the world's civilization of those who 
remained in the land was slight indeed. Those who fled 
into Egypt, though they continued to worship Jehovah and 
multiplied in numbers, appear to have exercised no influ- 
ence at least for several generations upon the development 
of Judaism. It remained for those in Babylon to cherish 
the achievements of the past, to reflect upon the meaning 
of their calamities, to hold steadfastly to their faith in 
Jehovah, and to follow the gleam that he flashed into their 
expectant souls. 

We have seen in Psalm 137 and in the two dirges from 
Lamentations that the exiles generally, under the instruc- 
tion of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, recognized that the destruc- 



IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 137 

tion of Jerusalem was a judgment upon Israel's sins. But 
the catastrophe was so overwhelming, and the exultation 
of the nations so pronounced that there was no hope of 
deliverance and restoration. Then there arose a series of 
prophets whose services to ethical religion are inestimable. 
They kept alive the faith of their countrymen in Jehovah 
as the one true God. He had not been discredited but 
exalted in the destruction of Israel. His program for 
the future is a new Israel exalted above her enemies and 
rising loftily over her own checkered history. This is the 
service Ezekiel rendered the world. After him at least 
three unknown prophets, one of whom is the author of 
Isaiah 13 and 14, and two others, to be considered in the 
next chapter, continued this ministry of faith and hope. 

Stairways to Higher Civilization 

No hour is dark enough to put out the torch of hope. 
There is no need that hope ever should be extinguished 
utterly in any man. Again and again evil ascends the 
throne of an age, a nation, a man's own soul; but as long 
as man feels that evil is a tyrant and usurper, the dawn 
trembles to light the world. 

The civilization of our dreams — the day of justice and 
righteousness and love among men — can neither come nor 
abide until man's "stony heart" gives way to a "heart of 
flesh." This heart of flesh — this inner life of the soul — 
is the spring of all programs of human welfare. Until 
man loves supremely and wisely, all sagely devised insti- 
tutions are in vain. Man's inner life never will be il- 
lumined to see the larger welfare and never will be 
strengthened to strive for it and maintain it until he 
works in fellowship with God. ' There is no social welfare 
apart from religion. 

The dreamer is the builder of civilization. The man 
who sees clearly the church and state that ought to be 
alone knows the immediate practical thing to do. Many a 
Christian and many a church stagnates to-day because 
there is no commanding program. If you would make 
your life buoyant and significant, decide what you would 



138 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

like to be or ought to be in ten or twenty years from to-day. 
If you would have your church a vital factor in your com- 
munity, determine what your church ought to be accom- 
plishing in the next half century to maintain its intel- 
lectual, social, and moral leadership of the community. 
See the distant scene, and the path of the hour is il- 
lumined. 

Eemember that it is sheer optimism that saves the world, 
Ezekiel simply would not consider defeat. Jesus in no 
wise considered that crucifixion spoiled his plans. Huss 
saw the fires of a world reformation in the flames that 
burned his body into ashes. He who exclaims, "What's 
the use ?" is a cumberer of the earth. Optimism will out- 
law intoxicating drinks the world round, will give woman 
her long-delayed economic and civil rights, will toll the 
death of war, will reorganize righteously the economic 
life of the world. Do not forget that God has a program ; 
he is not being defeated by the foolish rebellion of men. 
Trust and obey him, and the better days will the sooner 
dawn. 

Questions fob Discussion 

1. Why was the destruction of Jerusalem a turning point 
in Hebrew religion? 

2. What made these years of Jewish exile such a critical 
period in the world's civilization? 

3. Did the destruction of Jerusalem advance the cause of 
religion? 

4. What would have been the probable course of Hebrew 
religious life had the integrity of the state been preserved? 

5. Why were the Jews who fled to Egypt so slightly influ- 
ential in the further development of Hebrew religion? 

6. What conditions during the exilic period were unfavor- 
able to the maintenance of the worship of Jehovah among the 
Palestinian Jews? 

7. Since the rise of prophetism was essential to the con- 
tinuance and development of Hebrew religion in the exilic 
period, what conditions in Babylonia favored the appearance 
of those prophets who became the saviors of religion? 

8. Why did the Jews, neither in Egypt nor in Palestine, 
produce prophets? 

9. To what does the author of Lamentations (chapters 2 
and 4) attribute the downfall of Jerusalem? 



IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 139 

10. According to Ezekiel what is the first act of the drama 
of the restoration of the Jewish state? 

11. What political organization does Ezekiel conceive neces- 
sary for the new state? 

12. To what extent is Ezekiel's conception of Sheol bor- 
rowed from or influenced by Babylonian ideas? 

13. To what extent does this study of the exile impress you 
with belief in the supreme watch and guidance of God in 
the affairs of men? 

WOBKS OF REFEBENCE 

History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
III, Book XI, Chapters IV, V. 

Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, pages 266-94. 

The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, 
pages 385-90. 



CHAPTER XIV 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 

The armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of 
Babylon, had plundered and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 
B. C. At his death in 562 his son Amil-Marduk (Evil- 
merodach; 2 Kings 25. 27) ascended the throne. The 
Biblical statement (2 Kings 25. 27-30) that he liberated 
Jehoiachin and provided royally for the dethroned king 
is all that is known of this monarch's reign. Amil- 
Marduk was assassinated, and his brother-in-law Nergal- 
sharezer ascended the throne. The latter king, follow- 
ing the policy of Nebuchadnezzar, checked the hope that 
the liberation of Jehoiachin awakened among the exiles. 
In 556 Nergal-sharezer died, and after a few months' rule 
by his son the Chaldean house ended in this youth's 
assassination. Nabonidus, a Babylonian, then ruled the 
destiny of the empire. This king was a great restorer 
and builder of temples and seems to have neglected other 
public affairs. But it was a reign of peace and prosperity. 
During this period the Persians, under Cyrus, arose against 
the Medes and won the territory that once composed a 
large part of the Assyrian Empire. Nabonidus paid no 
heed to this rising power; and when Cyrus approached 
Babylon in 538, the city fell into his hands without 
resistance. • 

Ezekiel's ministry belongs to the earlier part of the 
period sketched above. Since he uttered no predictions 
of the downfall of the Chaldean Empire, it is most probable 
that he did not live beyond the hopes of restoration awak- 
ened by the liberation of Jehoiachin. From Ezekiel's 
death until the ascendancy of the Persians became ap- 
parent, there was nothing to encourage belief in a return 
to Palestine. Undoubtedly this was a despondent gen- 
eration. If Israel was not to return to Palestine, then 
Jehovah's purposes were thwarted, Ezekiel and Jere- 

140 



TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDEKS 141 

miah were mistaken, and there was little use in clinging 
to their oft-deferred hope and the religions customs of 
their fathers: they might as well succumb to the in- 
evitable destiny and mingle in the civil and religious life 
of the Babylonians. 

In this dark hour arose the grandest of Israel's seers. 
Even should there be no return to Jerusalem, Jehovah 
was still with them and had in them and for them a 
glorious destiny. Their mission to the world was such 
that nothing less than this prolonged and hopeless cap- 
tivity could accomplish it. Those who remained faithful 
and loyal to Jehovah through their very sufferings and 
faith, and through these alone, could bear that witness to 
the alien world which would win their allegiance to Je- 
hovah and accomplish their salvation. 

The Great Evangelist of the Exile 

His message is preserved in four oracles embedded in 
Isaiah 40 to 55. These present a portrait of the "servant 
of Jehovah" and his mission. 

(a) Isaiah J/.2. 1-k- — Observe that somebody is Jehovah's 
servant, in whom he delights, and in whom is his Spirit. 
What is the mission of this servant? (verse 1). (The 
word "justice" used here really means the whole of the 
beliefs and ordinances of Israel's religion.) Notice the 
method of this vast undertaking to evangelize the heathen 
world (verse 2). This evangelist is not to conduct a 
series of whirlwind tabernacle campaigns; it is a quiet, 
unobtrusive, intensive, individual propaganda which is 
here contemplated. Verse 3 indicates that there are ele- 
ments of faith and goodness even in the midst of the 
idolatry and superstition of the heathen world, and that 
these are to be strengthened and fanned into flame, not 
destroyed by bigotry and egotism. Gentleness and con- 
ciliation, not harsh reproaches and stern denunciation, will 
commend the religion of Jehovah. Verse 4 declares the 
indefatigable zeal of the servant in the pursuit of his mis- 
sion, which shall not end until the most distant lands have 
accepted Jehovah's true religion. 



142 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

(b) Isaiah k9* 1-6 is the second of these servant songs. 
Who is the speaker? Who the audience? Note the con- 
viction of the servant that he is called to his mission by 
Jehovah from his earliest existence. What prophet held a 
similar belief ? How is the servant's effectiveness of speech 
here symbolized? What words declare the certainty of 
success for the servant's mission to the Gentile world? 
What is the servant's own opinion concerning the success 
of his mission? Yet observe that he recognizes that the 
issue is with Jehovah. Verses 5 and 6 may be rendered 
as follows: 

"And now is Jehovah minded 
(Who formed me from the womb to be his servant) 
To bring Jacob back again 
And gather Israel unto him; 
And to me, honored in Jehovah's eyes, 
And strength receiving from my God, 
He saith, 'Slight task it is to establish Jacob's tribes 
And bring back the preserved of Israel; 
Rather shall you be a light unto the Gentiles 
And my salvation be unto all the earth/ " 

The student must be impressed by the splendid great- 
ness of this sentiment. Jeremiah and Ezekiel concerned 
themselves with the restoration of Israel to Palestine; 
this servant of Jehovah accepts the teaching of these older 
prophets that it is Jehovah's purpose to restore exiled 
Israel to its ancient land. But there is a higher task for 
the servant of Jehovah than to labor for this restoration. 
Jehovah himself will perform this in his own good time. 
He now commits to his servant a far grander enterprise. 
He is to be Jehovah's light in the midst of vast Gentile 
darkness; he is to become Jehovah's messenger of the 
true religion which is the world's salvation. 

(c) Isaiah 50. 1+-9. — This is the third song of the ser- 
vant of Jehovah. Who is the speaker? Does he have an 
auditory or is he soliloquizing? Verse 4 expresses the 
servant's preparation to become the teacher of the heathen 
world weary with its idolatry. Verse 5 states the servant's 



TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDEES 143 

unquestioned obedience to the divine will, and verse 6 
describes his willing submission to the insults and suffering 
inflicted by a misunderstanding heathendom. Yet he was 
sustained (verses 7-9) by a sublime consciousness of the 
presence of Him who had called and commissioned him. 
(d) These servant songs climax in the well-known pas- 
sage Isaiah 52. 13 to 53. 12. — Here we reach the heights of 
Hebrew prophecy. 

(1) 52. 13-15.— Who is the speaker? Who are the 
hearers ? What prediction is made of the servant's renown 
and destiny ? Verses 14, 15 may be thus paraphrased : The 
servant's marred and deformed appearance was little cal- 
culated to commend him to the Gentiles, but his sublime 
mission makes him the surprise of the nations. Kings 
shall be awed in his presence, for they shall now perceive 
things which hitherto they never may have seen or heard. 

(2) 53. 1-10. — Who is now the speaker? The opening 
question of verse 1 should be, as the marginal reading 
suggests, "Who could have believed what we have heard?" 
Jehovah's servant grew up in the presence of the Gentile 
nations, but there was no attractiveness in him for their 
eyes. What further statement (in verse 4) is made of 
the way in which he was regarded by the heathen world? 
Verse 4 is thus translated in "The New Century Bible": 

"Yet our diseases 'twas he who bore, 
And our sufferings, he bore their load; 
While we, we thought him plague-stricken, 
Smitten of God, and humiliated/' 

What further words describe the vicarious suffering of 
Jehovah's servant? Observe the gentle, uncomplaining 
spirit (verse 7) in which this persecuted servant bore his 
afflictions unto death. The text of verses 8, 9 is not clear; 
the following probably expresses the meaning: 

"By high-handed oppression was he stricken down. 

Who among his people regarded his death? 

Yet for their transgressions was he smitten. 

His grave was made among the sinful and wealthy, 

Although he was guiltless of violence and deceit." 



144 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

Yerse 10, also confused, may be expressed thus : 

"It was Jehovah's will to crush him 
And to make him an offering for sin; 
Yet his life shall not end, he shall behold posterity, 
And the purpose of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand." 

(3) 53. 11, 12.— The speaker now changes. Who is he? 
The text here too is uncertain. The following is perhaps 
the general sense : 

"Through the travail of his soul shall he see the light sat- 
isfying; 
By his knowledge shall my servant bring many to right- 
eousness; 
The burden of their iniquities shall he bear. 
Therefore, shall he receive his portion among the great 
And have his share of spoil with the strong, 
Because he poured out his soul unto death 
And let himself be reckoned a transgressor. 
Yet it was the punishment of the many which he bore 
And for transgressors that he interposed." 

The Servants of Jehovah 

The heights of ethical religion are reached in the servant 
songs of the older of these two unknown prophets living 
in the latter half of the Babylonian exile. It is impera- 
tive to determine who is to be understood by "the servant 
of Jehovah." Many Christian writers have thought these 
utterances were a prediction of the life and work of Jesus. 
That this interpretation does not do these writings justice 
is evident from any consideration of the meaning of He- 
brew prophecy. Those great men who lifted Hebrew wor- 
ship into ethical monotheism were not concerned about 
the precise details of far-off events. Distant scenes were 
not their concern. They were the interpreters of cur- 
rent events to their own generation. It would not have 
been of supreme inspiration to the Babylonian exiles to have 
brought to them a foretelling of the life of Jesus, who was 
not to be born for more than five hundred years. Nothing 



TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 145 

less than a counsel or a hope for immediate use .would 
avail. This servant, now proclaimed to them, must be 
one in their own times or he could not be of immediate help 
to them. 

Since there has been preserved the name of no in- 
dividual of the Exile who in any measure could have war- 
ranted such an ideal eulogy or achieved such a heroic 
service, we must dismiss the thought that this servant of 
Jehovah is an individual. The Second Isaiah's polemic 
against idols and his thrilling summons to his people 
to shake off the notion of Jehovah's impotence and indif- 
ference reveal the danger to which Israel was subjected 
in foreign lands. Undoubtedly thousands of Jews, dis- 
couraged by repeatedly blasted hopes, must have drifted 
into conformity with the religious and political prac- 
tices around them. But there were others, hoping in the 
midst of despair and meditating upon the nation's past, 
who were molded into a true Israel in the midst of 
heathenism. 

This true Israel, misunderstood and persecuted by their 
conquerors and adversely judged by those Jews who had 
conformed to Babylonian life, is Jehovah's servant. It is 
this group of exiles to whom this author speaks. He 
wished them to understand their own high mission in 
the world. Theirs was a vicarious suffering. The afflic- 
tions they bore were not penal alone. There rested upon 
them the grossness of religious beliefs and practices of 
the whole world. They were the teachers and the atoners 
of mankind. Eeligion at its loftiest is to put aside one's 
immediate glory and destiny and, suffering the afflictions 
that selfishness ever thrusts upon altruism, to go forth 
even unto death and proclaim in heroic deed the sublime 
satisfaction won in loyalty to one's ideal. Israel's mis- 
sion was not to found a state but to convert a world to 
the holy and righteous God, whom the prophets from Amos 
to Ezekiel had proclaimed; it was to sweep away from 
the nations the gross idolatry, the senseless ritual of div- 
ination, sorcery, and sacrifice, and to fill human life with 
glad acceptance of an ethical and spiritual Deity's will. 



146 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

Everyone who grasps this thinker's dream of mission- 
ary service will be thrilled by its grandeur. It is little 
wonder that his contemporaries could not follow him, and 
that, later, Judaism found no place for his universalism. 
It may be truthfully though regretfully said that to have 
carried any considerable proportion of his countrymen with 
him would have been disastrous. His age was not yet 
ready for such a conception of religion and life. Jesus 
of Nazareth, who sought to make this ideal the basis 
of his kingdom, was put to death. His teaching, still too 
lofty for the world, was distorted by his followers. Nor is 
our age truly ripe for this dream. Yet civilization will 
not shine with its fullest splendor until some great nation 
deliberately sacrifices itself for truth, righteousness, and 
peace. Bigotry, egotism, greed, reliance upon physical 
strength, and longing for material goals are the curse of 
modern nations. Let some great nation arise in the spirit 
of this nameless evangelist and sacrifice all for the sake 
of the brotherhood to be, and the world then, and not until 
then, will be the kingdom of the Christ. 

Deutero-Isaiah 

The fortieth to the fifty-fifth chapters of Isaiah, with 
the exception of the sections studied above, usually are 
assigned to another nameless prophet of the Babylonian 
exile, who, for want of a better name, is called Deutero-, 
or Second, Isaiah. These prophecies were probably com- 
posed between 546 and 538 B. C. Their author included in 
his book these servant passages, the work of an earlier 
prophet. The mission of this prophet was to quicken among 
his people the hopes of a speedy deliverance from exile and 
a return to Jerusalem. How did he undertake this task ? 

(a) Deliverance from exile and restoration to Palestine 
is at hand. Examine Isaiah 40. 1, 2; 51. 5, 12-14; 52. 
7-12 and observe the need of such a message to relieve the 
despondency of the exiles. How speedily does this prophet 
expect the Exile to end? There is a short song (48. 20, 
21) that, when rendered properly into English, conveys 



TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDEES 147 

the spirit of urgency and expectancy characteristic of this 
prophet. Verse 20 may be rendered thus : 

"Go forth from Babylon, 
Flee from the Chaldees; 
With loud song proclaim it, 
These tidings make known, 

Send it forth 
To the end of the earth: 
Say, 'Yahweh hath ransomed 
Jacob his slave/ " x 

(b) Nearly a generation had passed since Ezekiel had 
aroused their hopes of release, but the restoration was as 
far off as ever. What assurance could be offered that this 
new prophet, like Ezekiel, was not mistaken ? This Second 
Isaiah urged upon his despondent, questioning countrymen 
these considerations: 

(1) The might and wisdom of Jehovah. — Read 40. 12- 
17, 22, 26, 28; 42. 5, 13-17; 44. 6; 45. 9-13; 46. 13; 52. 9. 
Observe the claims that are made for Israel's God. To 
what extent would such beliefs be difficult for these exiles ? 
When once accepted, what bearing would they have upon 
their religious practices? upon their hopes of return to 
Jerusalem ? 

(2) The righteousness and holiness of Jehovah and his 
love for Israel. — Read 41. 1-20 and observe the gracious 
words in which doubting Israel is assured of Jehovah's 
love and yearning to deliver his people from their dis- 
tresses. Israel is Jehovah's people; even in exile he has 
not cast them away. See, similarly, 43. 1-13 ; 44. 1-8 ; 49. 
14-26. Jehovah's very holiness and righteousness impel 
him to fulfill his ancient purpose to magnify his people 
Israel. 

(a) Granting these truths, the prophefs auditors yet 
would ask him how these things were to come to pass. The 
gods of the Chaldeans had shown their power over Israel's 
God in the sack of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and in 

»«The New Century Bible.'! 



148 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

this prolonged captivity. There was no hint of liberation 
in the Chaldean policy. To this the prophet answered: 

(1) The gods of the Chaldeans, of the entire non- Jewish 
world, are powerless in the presence of the one true God, 
Jehovah. Read 40. 19-26 ; 46. 8-10 and many similar ut- 
terances in this prophet's oracles for his repeated and 
varied affirmations that Jehovah alone is Master of the 
nations. Note the proof offered of this superiority of 
Jehovah in 41. 21-24. The Chaldean gods, not seeing the 
approaching fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus, have 
uttered no warning. Jehovah alone sees the coming doom 
of the Chaldean Empire. Let the Chaldean gods show 
their might by their foresight. Their very silence in this 
crisis proves their impotence. Let Israel not fear them, 
but trust Jehovah and be filled with courage and hope. 

(2) The Chaldean Empire is doomed (lt8. Ik; Jf7. 1-15; 
lf9. 24-26). The nations are in the hand of Jehovah (40. 
15). 

(8) The people, deceived by the peace and prosperity of 
the Chaldean Empire under Nabonidus, did not conceive 
this destruction possible. Our prophet points to the ris- 
ing power of Persia under Cyrus and declares that he is 
Jehovah's anointed to break the power of Chaldea and to 
liberate the Jews from Babylon. Read 41. 2, 3, 5 ; 44. 28 ; 
45. 1-6; 45. 13; 46. 11; 48. 14, 15. State what is said 
about the successes of Cyrus, the relation of his victories 
to Jehovah's purposes, his attitude to the exiled Jews, 
and his services in their behalf. 

(d) Some of the prophet's auditors, remembering the 
teaching of other prophets that the Exile was their pun- 
ishment for sin, must have pointed out that they dared 
not hope for such high favor from Jehovah. Read 40. 2; 
43. 22-28; 44. 21, 22; 54. 1-10 for the prophet's answer. 
Does he palliate his nation's sins? Does he preach that 
the Exile has been a punishment for sin? Does he think 
that Jehovah is indifferent to sin? Why, then, does he 
assure his countrymen of liberation ? 

(e) The future state.— Read 42. 6-8; 43. 3-8; 44. 5, 
26-28; 45. 13, 14; 49. 22, 23; 54. 11-14; 55. 5. What is 



TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 149 

the future mission of Israel? What is to be the nation's 
attitude to the Gentiles? Does the author expect a com- 
plete restoration of Jews to Palestine? What details are 
given of the expected life in Palestine ? 

In turning from the prophet of the servant passages to 
Deutero-Isaiah one feels that he has dropped from the 
heights. Yet somehow, in this practical world, an ideal if 
too splendid does not grip mankind. It takes the ideal 
to move the actual, but it is usually the modified dream 
of a great thinker which a statesman undertakes to write 
into laws and embody in institutions. The Second Isaiah 
was no mere drudge. He too was moved by glittering 
visions of the ought-to-be. But he realized clearly that 
scattered exiles must be gathered again into a state in 
order that Jehovah religion should continue in the world. 
He too regarded Israel as the servant of Jehovah, but the 
mission was in Palestine and not among the nations. It 
required a state, and not a church, at this period of civil- 
ization to carry forward the torch of religious progress. 
The man who can put foundations under his air castles 
is ever needed by the world. 

Summary 

In these two nameless prophets of the Exile we have two 
widely divergent views of Israel's future. The author of 
the servant songs does not emphasize a return to Pales- 
tine. It is not there that Israel is to fulfill her mission. 
It is not as a state but as a missionary that the Jewish 
people henceforth are to follow their destiny. Her suffer- 
ings no longer are penal but vicarious. By patience, 
faith in Jehovah, loyal acceptance of his will, and un- 
wearied proclamation of his righteousness, the exiles are 
to win the heathen world to him. For this purpose the 
nation has died and in the undertaking of this universal 
evangelism the nation will rise again into a new and un- 
dreamed glory. 

The second prophet puts this high and difficult mission 
aside. Israel is to go back to Palestine. This marvelous 
deliverance of his people from the apparently certain de- 



150 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

struction in a foreign land will draw the attention of the 
nations to Jehovah's grandeur, wisdom, and sovereignty. 
Nations that Israel has never known will come submis- 
sively to Jerusalem to learn the ordinances of Israel's 
God. 

Foe the Quiet Hour 

What a hollow thing is fame beside the rendering of 
great service ! The author of the noblest utterance of the 
non-Christian world is unknown. His message of evan- 
gelism made little appeal to his dejected fellow exiles. 
His soul was too big for them. The light that gleamed so 
gloriously in him was too distant a star to light him into 
earthly immortality. His name, uncherished of men, is 
hid with God. 

Must not every great religious experience seek to utter its 
message to others? Can genuine religion be other than 
missionary and evangelistic? You can measure your re- 
ligion not by your honesty, church attendance, or the cor- 
rectness of your creed, but by your passion to infuse the 
spirit of your knowledge of God into individuals and in- 
stitutions far and near. 

Do you realize the far vicariousness of human life ? Are 
you an employer of labor? Do you recognize how much 
of your success is due to the men who work for you ? Do 
you give them a just share of the profit of your common 
toil? You who are employees, do you bear in mind that 
your employers have taken from you some of the bur- 
dens that you otherwise would carry? Life everywhere 
is an intricately woven web. Let us try not to harden 
ourselves against others but to understand how much we 
must bear one another's burdens in an ideal civilization. 

Ideals, unless they are embodied in deeds and insti- 
tutions, are no more than dreams which mock us in our 
sleep. Deutero-Isaiah, although he missed the fine lift 
of soul of this earlier seer, realized that the state is essen- 
tial to an ordered civilization. He set himself to create 
out of his despondent countrymen a new social order to 
be realized in Palestine. His passion ever must be our 






TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 151 

teacher. Do not suppose that your prayer for righteous- 
ness will avail unless you set yourself like flint against 
evil. Be a dreamer but be a fighter too. Smash the saloon, 
strike militarism till it dies, cry out against our present 
social order of economic injustice until ruthless competi- 
tion and unjust division of the profits of toil are replaced 
by Christian brotherhood; count greed a snake and scotch 
it pitilessly ; push civic cutthroats to the wall ; give woman 
the suffrage and rescue her from the brute passions of 
lust. Be a builder of the ideal state. Take great views of 
God and help to regenerate the world. 

Questions foe Discussion 

1. Consider briefly the mission of the great prophets. To 
what extent were they interested in far-off events? In gen- 
eral, when they discussed the future, what motive led them 
to forecast the course of events? What events did they pre- 
dict? To what extent were their predictions fulfilled? What 
was the great motive that impelled them in their ministry? 

2. What political events suggested to the author of the 
servant passages the need of such sermons? Whom was thfs 
prophet seeking to serve by these messages? 

3. Who is the servant of Jehovah? What new conception 
of religion is here proclaimed? 

4. What influence had this idea upon the world's religious 
life? 

5. What contribution does this author make to the problem 
of human suffering? 

6. State the various arguments offered by the Deutero-Isaiah 
to overcome the despondency of the Babylonian exiles. 

References fob Additional Study 

History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
III, Book XI, Chapter VI. 

Isaiah, Smith, Volume II, "Expositor's Bible," Chapters XVI, 
XVIII-XX. 

History of Religions, Moore, Volume II, page 29f. 

Isaiah and His Times, Driver, pages 175-84. 



CHAPTEE XV 

TASKS AND HOPES OF THE EETUENING 
EXILES 

Babylon fell into the hands of Cyrus in 538 B. C. His 
first acts did not disappoint the hopes of the Deutero- 
Isaiah. In the British Museum there is a baked-clay cylin- 
der inscribed with an account of the capture of Babylon 
by Cyrus. The account states that Marduk, the god of 
Babylon, "furiously angry" at Nabonidus, the Chaldean 
king, searched through all lands for a righteous prince 
unto whom he might deliver Babylon. His choice fell 
upon Cyrus. Together they marched to Babylon, and 
Marduk delivered the city into the hands of Cyrus without 
a blow. The first act of the new king was to send the gods 
whom Nabonidus had gathered out of the cities of his 
empire back to their respective dwelling places. This 
act of his, recorded in the Baylonian annals, witnesses to 
his general purpose to promote the local religious interests 
of his realm. Cyrus also reversed the Assyrian-Baby- 
lonian policy of transplanting conquered peoples and per- 
mitted those who wished to return home to go back to 
their former habitations. 

It is a debatable question what numbers of the exiles 
set out from Babylonia to rebuild the city of their fathers 
at Jerusalem. Undoubtedly such as wished to return were 
free to depart. The first generation of exiles had passed 
away. The second generation knew no other home than 
the fertile fields and magnificent cities of their conquerors. 
Without question the exilic population had increased under 
these favorable conditions of life. Not even the splendid 
enthusiasm of the Second Isaiah was able to inspire a 
large company to forsake the easier conditions of life to 
undertake the difficult mission of rebuilding the city and 
reestablishing their ancient religion among the bare mpun«» 

153 



TASKS OF THE RETURNING EXILES 153 

tains so dear to their fathers. But some responded with 
courageous zeal to the appeal to turn again to Palestine. 
This chapter traces the events of the first years of the 
returning exiles. 

The First Return of Exiles From Babylonia 

Cyrus and the Exiles. — Deutero-Isaiah's expectation that 
Cyrus would give the captive Jews the opportunity to re- 
turn to Jerusalem was fulfilled. Not only were they given 
permission to go back to Palestine, but Cyrus gave orders, 
also, that their Temple at Jerusalem should be rebuilt. 
He dispatched Sheshbazzar, one of his officers, to escort 
the returning exiles and to supervise the settlement at 
Jerusalem. Read the first chapter of Ezra. Cyrus issued 
his decree in 538 B. C. 

Among the apocryphal books of the Old Testament is 
1 Esdras, or, as it is sometimes called, the third book of 
Ezra. With some variations this book parallels our bibli- 
cal Ezra. It is not improbable that 1 Esdras 5. 1-6 pre- 
serves a fragment of a Jewish account of the journey to 
Jerusalem; 1 Esdras 5. 1, 2 reads: 

"After this were the chiefs of fathers' houses chosen to 
go up according to their tribes, with their wives and sons 
and daughters, with their manservants, their maidser- 
vants, and their cattle. And Cyrus sent with them a thou- 
sand horsemen till they had brought them back to Jeru- 
salem safely, and with musical instruments, tabrets and 
flutes." 

This is a likely description. Cyrus would wish them 
securely settled in their own land, and the return itself 
awakened lively hopes in those who made the venture, and 
the tedium of the journey may well have been relieved 
by abundance of music. See also Ezra 2. 65 for a refer- 
ence to professional musicians. 

Character and Number of the Eepatriated. — Ezra 2 
lists the people who came back to Jerusalem in 537. A 
great deal of controversy has been raised over the num- 
bers, and there have been attempts to adjust the discrep- 
ancy in the accounts as given in Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7. 6- 



154 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

73 ; and 1 Esdras 5. 7-45. The number of those returned 
probably was fewer than the figures given by Ezra 2. Ob- 
serve, however, the various persons here listed : the leaders 
(Ezra 2. 2), the laymen (2. 3-35), Temple officials (2. 36, 
37), and those of doubtful Jewish descent (2. 59-63). 
Among the leaders Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Joshua; Haggai 
1.1) were chief. In the list of returning exiles Temple offi- 
cials take a leading place. Examine Ezra 2. 36-62. Here 
are named priests, Levites, singers, porters, and Nethinim. 
The distinction between priest and Levite is interesting 
and important. Students of earlier lessons in this course 
will recall that in the time of the judges and under the 
monarchy sacrifices customarily were performed by the head 
of the family. As the sanctuaries became more elaborate, 
caretakers were needed, who in time took over the offering 
of sacrifice. The office eventually became hereditary, and 
a fictitious ancestor, Levi, was provided for them, and 
priests were called Levites. See Judges 17. 6-13. 
"Levite" here means simply one who was trained in the 
manipulation of the oracle. The man in question be- 
longed to the tribe of Judah. At this period the Levite 
apparently does not offer the sacrifice. Micah as head of 
the household continues this function. Deuteronomy 18. 
1, which expresses the situation in the seventh century, 
calls all priests "Levites." By this time the Levites, or 
priests, had charge of the sacrifices. Josiah's reform in 
621 B. C. attempted to bring all the country Levites to 
Jerusalem and put them on the same footing with the 
Temple Levites. For some reason this was not accom- 
plished. See Deuteronomy 18. 6-8 for the purpose of the 
reformers and 2 Kings 23. 8, 9 for the failure to place the 
country Levites on an equality with their city brethren. 
The first distinction between priests and Levites is made 
by Ezekiel. See Ezekiel 44. 10-16. Here the priests are 
still called Levites. But the Levites of Jerusalem, the 
descendants of Zadok, who championed Solomon's candi- 
dacy for the throne (1 Kings 1. 38, 39), alone are re- 
garded true priests by Ezekiel and in his plan of restored 
Temple worship are to have the right of offering sacrifice. 



TASKS OF THE RETURNING EXILES 155 

The country Levites are made menials of the Temple. 
EzekiePs reason for this distinction is not historically 
true. The reader will recall that country and city sanctu- 
aries alike practiced the worship that Ezekiel here con- 
demns. By the end of the Exile this inferiority of the 
Levites was established, and, consequently, there was great 
reluctance among them to return to Jerusalem, where the 
subordination would receive greater emphasis. 

This is the earliest mention of a professional class of 
singers in Jewish worship. It is not probable that any 
such class of persons existed before the Exile. It was dur- 
ing the Exile that the practice arose of employing mu- 
sicians in worship. Their task at the period of the re- 
building of the Temple was to conduct the music of the 
Temple services. The porters, or doorkeepers, were to be 
placed in charge of the entrances to the Temple. They 
probably were caretakers as well as keepers of the en- 
trances. All the earlier sanctuaries must have had their 
guardians. The position was a humble one. This is evi- 
denced by the Psalmist, who exclaimed: 

"I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, 
Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalms 84. 
10). 

The Nethinim were the lowest in rank of all the minis- 
trants at the Temple. Little is known about them. It 
has been conjectured that they were slaves and probably 
foreigners. Temple slaves were a common feature of 
Babylonian life. Later they disappear from Jewish life. 

The Work op Zerubbabel and Joshua 

Read the third chapter of Ezra. On reaching Pales- 
tine the people seemed to have settled in Jerusalem and 
the surrounding towns (Ezra 2. 70; 3. 1). What was 
the first public act of the returned exiles ? Who were the 
leaders in this work? Which of the two is regarded the 
more important? See also Haggai 1. 1. In the light of 
past chapters what written law of Moses was in the pos- 
session of these altar builders? Ezra 3. 3 is a corrupt 



156 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

text. Batten proposes heroically to substitute a variant 
reading of 1 Esdras 5. 50, as follows: "And they erected 
the altar upon its own place" (that is, where it had stood 
in the court of Solomon's Temple) ; "and there were 
gathered unto them some from other nations of the land, 
and they were well disposed toward the altar, and they 
aided them, and they, offered sacrifices at the proper sea- 
son aud burnt offerings to Jehovah night and morning." 1 
This situation of good will of the mixed residents of Pales- 
tine toward the efforts of the Jewish community is not 
improbable. Observe carefully the reestablishment of the 
various religious festivals of Israel's earliest life in Pales- 
tine. The daily sacrifices are now more elaborate than 
formerly. See 2 Kings 16. 15. 

After establishing the sacrificial ritual what was the 
community's next concern? What preparations were 
made? To what extent were the measures for rebuilding 
the Temple carried out? What inference may be drawn 
as to the extent of the destruction of the city in 586 B. C. 
and the desolation of the intervening years? How much 
time had elapsed since the destruction of the Temple until 
the foundations were now laid? Eead Ezra 4. 1-5 and 
state the obstacles that now arose to prevent the comple- 
tion of the Temple. What insight is here given into the 
religion of Palestine during the past half century? Who 
are these people whose help was declined ? The rebuilding 
of the Temple, begun so joyously in 536 B. C, now dragged 
along until 520 B. C. (A great deal of confusion runs 
through this whole period from the return to the days of 
Ezra and Nehemiah, and the course of events here fol- 
lowed is not free from objection.) Cyrus died in 529. 
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, was a profligate despot, guilty 
of many atrocious deeds; and, therefore, his interest in 
Jewish Temple building was little indeed. It was not 
until Darius Hystaspis came to the throne of the Persian 
Empire that Jewish hopes again revived. At the accession 
of Darius, 521 B. C, the Persian Empire was threatened 



1 "International Critical Commentary," page 109. 



TASKS OF THE EETUENING EXILES 157 

with dissolution. Various provinces nearly succeeded in 
setting up independent kingdoms. It was under such 
circumstances, which seemed to fulfill the Messianic pre- 
dictions of Ezekiel (chapters 25 to 32), that Haggai and 
Zechariah, prophets of the Jewish community in Palestine, 
aroused their countrymen to undertake with new zeal the 
rebuilding of the Temple. 

The Mission of Haggai 

Eead Ezra 5. 1, 2. To whose inspiring leadership was 
the new effort to complete the Temple due? This was in 
520 B. C. Who are now in charge of the Jewish com- 
munity? Eead Haggai 1. What position is now held by 
Zerubbabel? Zerubbabel was the grandson of Jehoiachin 
and was therefore a prince of the house of David. It is 
not known when he was made governor. What was Hag- 
gar's position in the community? Observe the words by 
which the people excuse their failure to complete the Tem- 
ple. Verse 2 should run: "This people say, 'The time 
has not come for Jehovah's house to be built.'" What 
led the people to this conclusion ? What was Haggai's re- 
tort? What insight is given into the economic conditions 
of the past sixteen years? What is Haggai's explanation 
of this poverty? Did the people acquiesce in his inter- 
pretation of their wretched condition? What motive in- 
duced Zerubbabel and his countrymen to undertake anew 
the work of rebuilding? 

Eead Haggai 2. 1-9. A month or two of building re- 
vealed the magnitude of the task and the slenderness of 
their resources. Solomon's Temple, destroyed sixty-six 
years previously, was remembered by a few of the oldest 
members of the community, and the new building seemed 
to be nothing in comparison. The workers were dis- 
heartened. What is Haggai's message at this state of 
affairs ? In what way will the glory of the second Temple 
surpass the first? Eead 2. 10-19. This sermon was deliv- 
ered a few weeks after the previous discourse. Again dis- 
couragement was hindering the work on the Temple. What 



158 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

was the source of this depression? In the previous dis- 
course Haggai declared that if the people would be strong 
and labor diligently, Jehovah would be with them. He 
promised also abundance of wealth to enrich and adorn 
the Temple. In 1. 9-11 what is the evidence which 
Haggai offers of Jehovah's favor? If no change occurred 
in the material conditions of the community since the 
Temple began to be rebuilt in 520, would this continued 
lack of prosperity discourage the builders? Note the ar- 
gument of Haggai to encourage his countrymen: "Your 
own negligence and coldness in the past, like contact with 
a corpse, has rendered your sacrifices objectionable to Je- 
hovah. His displeasure has been shown in shortage of 
field and vineyard. But now that you have undertaken 
the work of rebuilding in earnest you may expect his favor. 
But since you have but sown your seed, and the grape, fig, 
pomegranate, and olive are yet far from fruitage, you can- 
not expect an immediate evidence of Jehovah's favorable 
disposition toward you. But from this day forward you 
may count upon his good will and blessing." 

Haggai closes his prophetic ministry with a prediction 
of the Messianic era. Darius, who followed Cambyses 
on the throne of the Persian Empire, was embarrassed for 
a time by a series of revolts in various parts of his domin- 
ion. It appeared for a time that the Persian Empire would 
break into pieces. This political situation encouraged 
Haggai to believe that the Messianic age frequently pre- 
dicted was to be ushered in. Bead 2. 20-23. Here it is 
said that Jehovah is shaking heaven and earth and over- 
throwing the nations. "In that day . . . will I take thee, 
Zerubbabel, my servant, and will make thee as a signet ; 
for I have chosen thee." In this veiled language Haggai 
announces to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, that 
Jehovah is about to inaugurate the Messianic age and will 
install him as its Messianic king. Here, as in the ma- 
jority of Jewish Messianic programs, the people are to do 
nothing to achieve their own hopes. No social struggle 
toward the better day is demanded. Jehovah of hosts 
will accomplish everything. The absence of an evangelis- 



TASKS OP THE RETURNING EXILES 159 

tic or missionary spirit in the attitude of Haggai toward 
the Gentiles is to be noted. 

Othek Religious Ideas of the Period 

The sacred lot. — Examine Ezra 2. 62, 63. As long as 
there was no direct evidence of the validity of certain 
priestly claims, an appeal was to be made to Urim and 
Thummim. Apparently at the earliest period of the return 
there was no one of the priests regarded as superior in 
rank to the others. The high priesthood became gradu- 
ally a recognized office in Israel. Undoubtedly through 
the eighth and seventh centuries prophetism discounted 
the appeal to the sacred lot. With no strong prophetic 
leadership in the restored community the older practice 
of ascertaining the Deity's will assumed new importance. 

Jurists. — The priests are the custodians and the inter- 
preters of the law. See Haggai 2. 12. This was an old 
function, but with the development of fuller codes the 
priests more and more became the teachers of the com- 
munity. 

Holiness and uncleanness. — Read Haggai 2. 12, 13. 
Note the meaning here of "holiness." Holy flesh is flesh 
that has been prepared for sacrifice upon the altar of Je- 
hovah. It is holy because it has been devoted to the service 
of the Deity. As we shall see in later chapters, these holy 
objects transmit their holiness to other objects by contact. 
It is probable that the one who carries the flesh in his 
skirt is a priest. In that case the garment is holy. But 
the holiness of the garment, getting its sanctity from the 
sacred flesh, is less holy than the meat for sacrifice. The 
holiness is weakened in transmission. This holiness of 
the skirt is so much less that it is not able to infect any 
object which it touches. A corpse, like sacrificial flesh, is 
taboo, and for the same reason. Both alike are dangerous. 
One must not offend the Deity by any commonness of 
treatment of anything which belongs to him; nor must 
one treat carelessly the spirit of the dead, which is be- 
lieved among primitive peoples to hover near the body until 
dissolution of the flesh takes place. Hence, among primi- 



160 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

tive people there is no distinction between holiness and 
uncleanness. Both are an expression of the fear that the 
spirit, whether of man or deity, offended by lack of re- 
spect, will revenge himself upon the thoughtless or the 
daring. Holiness and uncleanness alike are dangerous 
properties of persons and things which can be passed on 
by contact. Holiness in time came to have an ethical 
meaning and then found an enduring place in the termin- 
ology and ideals of religion. 

Timeless Tkuths 

Think of the vast community of interests in which the 
affairs of any people are involved. A Median prince's 
ambition to rule the world unbarred the world's first 
ghetto and made possible the resurrection of Jewish re- 
ligion. No nation lives unto itself. Patriotism is the im- 
mediate enemy of universal brotherhood. When any coun- 
try's nationalism overrides its sense of loyalty to civiliza- 
tion, that nation becomes a menace to mankind. For the 
thoughtful man the world has become a neighborhood. 
The quarrels of Europe, the mastery of the Far East, the 
lift of superstition from uncivilized Africans, the spiritual 
sterility of the Mohammedan world, are problems as near 
the citizen as the unsanitary stench of the alleys in his city 
or civic corruption in his town government. Our world 
has become a universe, and a true man possesses a uni- 
versal mind. The joys and the sorrows, the successes and 
failures, of all peoples are his concern. 

This postexilic community exhibits the barrenness of a 
society that possesses no prophets. The chief power of a 
prophet is his clear, ethical vision. Beside righteousness 
the remainder of man's achievements shrinks to nothing- 
ness. Such men have a program. Progress is an open 
road. They possess a sense of sureness which crowns them 
with leadership. As long as we seek God's will wholly 
in the writings of the past, as did these returned exiles, 
there will come no aggressive leadership among us. In 
order that we may advance his kingdom, God ever must 
seem to us expectant to reveal to us his new purposes. The 



TASKS OF THE RETURNING EXILES 161 

voices that guide us must not call to us out of the past; 
they must flash their summons upon us out of radiant 
dawns. The past is dead ; the future alone is alive. Civil- 
ization still wears its swaddling clothes. The universe is 
young and undiscovered and summons us to put forth our 
spiritual caravels from ancient ports and steer boldly into 
the unknown. 

It is a weakness of religion that it clings to material evi- 
dences of its validity. The returned exiles were dismayed 
by poor harvests. Even Haggai could offer no other evi- 
dences of Jehovah's good will than full granaries and over- 
flowing wine vats. The Temple could not help but be long 
building and would not be permanently significant in such 
a circle of ideas. Examine your own ideas of what are the 
marks of your heavenly Father's good will. Does this evi- 
dence of favor consist in a full purse, a splendid position, 
a growing business, or a robust health ? Then you belong 
to the life of those far-off centuries. Measured by such a 
test, Pilate was dearer to God than Christ, Nero more re- 
ligious than Paul, Cesare Borgia a greater saint than Savon- 
arola, and Tetzel a greater kingdom builder than Luther. 
It is not health of body but wholesomeness of soul, not 
riches in the bank but wealth of moral convictions, not 
the flattering attention of the press but that likeness of 
soul which fits one to care for Christ, which are the supreme 
marks of God's gracious relation to man. 

Guides to the Mastery of the Lesson 

1. What conditions in Babylonia made possible the return 
of Jewish exiles to Palestine? 

2. What motives induced some of these exiles to return to 
Jerusalem? What reasons persuaded others to remain in 
Babylonia? When did the return take place? How many 
made the journey at this time? Who were the leaders? 

3. How many priests are said to have returned? Levites? 
State the history of the use of the term "Levite." Why did 
not more Levites return to the land of their fathers? 

4. What political organization did the restored community 
possess? What were the relations of the returned exiles to 
the inhabitants of Palestine? What is known of these older 
residents? 



162 THE BELIGION OF JUDAH 

5. What is Zerubbabel's connection with the' new Jewish 
state? Why did Haggai so intimately associate him with the 
Messianic kingdom? 

6. Estimate Haggai's services. What resemblances does he 
present to older prophets? What are the defects of his ideas? 

7. Why do the priests assume such importance in the post- 
exilic community? The sacrificial conception of worship is 
established more firmly than ever: why were the people so 
little influenced by the prophetic idea of religion? 

8. Why did so many years elapse before the building of the 
Temple was completed? What is the accepted evidence of 
Jehovah's favor? What is the defect in this conception? 
What was Haggai's contribution to ethical religion? What is 
his conception of the Messianic kingdom? 

References foe Supplementary Reading 

Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, pages 291-304. 

Article "Haggai," in Dictionary of, the Bible, Hastings. 

The Postexilic Prophets, Bennett, pages 65-78. 



CHAPTER XVI 
FKOM ZECHAEIAH TO NEHEMIAH 

The rebuilding of the Temple, begun by the exiles who 
returned in 536 B. C, slackened or ceased until 520, when 
the despondent community, stimulated by Haggai, began its 
task with new devotion. Zechariah, whose prophecies were 
uttered 520-518, brought the dejected workers new inspira- 
tion. Encouraged by the faith of these two prophets, 
Zerubbabel and Joshua led their people to the completion of 
the Temple in 516 B. C. From this date until the arrival 
of Nehemiah in 445 B. C. the political history of the Jews 
is obscure. It is reasonably certain, however, that the book 
of Malachi and the prophecies found in Isaiah 56 to 6Q 
reflect the discouragements, hopes, and beliefs of this 
period. 

The Teaching of Zechariah. — Zechariah's interest is in 
the Messianic kingdom. Like Haggai he believes that the 
rebuilding of the Temple is the first essential of the rise 
again of Jehovah's rule in Palestine. Jehovah's residence, 
in the thought of Israel's leaders, was not fixed again in the 
Temple, but the Temple was the one acceptable place to 
meet him and was the visible manifestation of his favor. 
To rebuild the Temple, therefore, was the immediate pre- 
lude of the Messianic kingdom. 

The Messianic Kingdom. — (a) The shaking of the na- 
tions. — Eead 1. 7-21. If you keep in mind that Ezekiel, the 
Second Isaiah, and Haggai had expected that a shaking 
of the nations would precede the advent of the golden age 
in Israel, the meaning of Zechariah's first vision becomes 
clear. Two or three months previously Haggai had sought 
to encourage the Jewish community by asserting that a 
shaking up of the nations within a little while would be the 
hour chosen by Jehovah to set up his Messianic rule. But 
political disturbances, instead of increasing, grew less. 

163 



164 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

Darius succeeded in quelling revolts in various parts of his 
empire. The Jews, who had come to expect catastrophic 
disturbances as the prelude to a new Jewish age, again 
became downhearted. Although the four horsemen who 
patrol the earth report that the nations are at rest, Zech- 
ariah declares that Jehovah is none the less displeased 
with the nations and exceedingly jealous for the pros- 
perity of Jerusalem. The prophet implies that the shak- 
ing up of the nations is not abandoned but only tempo- 
rarily delayed. 

(b) The Messianic kingdom is founded upon righteous- 
ness. Read 1. 3-6. Zechariah reminds his countrymen 
that the word of the prophets who declared that righteous- 
ness is the foundation of the state has been vindicated by 
the afflictions that have fallen upon the Jewish people. Zech- 
ariah does not charge his own community with specific 
evils; but he assures his hearers that ethical holiness and 
loyalty to Jehovah are essentials to his favor. 

Read 3. 1-7. The filthy garments of Joshua symbolize 
the defilement of the sanctuary and the priesthood by the 
heathen during the exile. The people themselves, by their 
contact with non-Jewish worship and by life in other than 
Jehovah's land, likewise have become filthy. The filthy 
garments of the high priest are symbolical of this iniquity 
and they must be stripped from him to make him accept- 
able to Jehovah. Joshua is assured that if he is faithful 
to Jehovah and carefully maintains the services of the 
Temple he shall be placed in permanent authority over the 
Temple and shall be the representative of the people in 
dealing with Jehovah. Read 5. 1-4. This vision of the 
flying roll is Zechariah's assurance that Jehovah will purge 
sinners — thieves and perjurers — from the Messianic state. 

Read chapter 7. Here the true spirit of prophecy reap- 
pears. A deputation came from Bethel to Jerusalem to in- 
quire whether certain fasts should be observed. The visit 
may have been occasioned by a threat of famine or by some 
other possible misfortune. We do not know what the 
priests of Jerusalem answered. But Zechariah implies that 
it matters little to Jehovah whether they fast or not. Fasts 



FROM ZECHARIAH TO NEHEMIAH 165 

and sacrifices, he says, were observed by the people for 
themselves; they had no bearing in the determination of 
Jehovah's purposes. They ought to have known better than 
to raise such an inquiry. Former prophets had spoken 
clearly enough. They had repeatedly taught the people 
that Jehovah does not ask sacrifice. He requires justice, 
kindness, and a daily effort to know and to obey his will. 
He asks that men shall show compassion to their unfor- 
tunate fellow men. The weak and dependent members of 
the community — the widow, the orphan, the sojourner, and 
the poor — must be the loving care of those placed in a more 
stable social position. It is such spirit and action which 
win the favor of Jehovah and guarantee his help in the pro- 
motion of the peace and prosperity of the state. It is right- 
eousness rather than ritual which enlists the help of Je- 
hovah. It is to be noted that, according to Zechariah, the 
Messianic age does not depend on Jehovah alone ; it is con- 
ditioned upon the energetic practice of social righteousness 
in Israel. 

Read chapter 8. The prophet here adds some details of 
the manner of life in the new age. Jehovah takes up his 
residence in Jerusalem, which is to be called the city of 
truth. Mount Zion, because of Jehovah's residence, will be 
known as the holy mountain. In the open spaces of the 
city men and women of advanced age shall spend their last 
years in the quiet enjoyment of life, and the streets will ring 
with the shouts of boys and girls at play. In 2. 1-5 the 
prophet adds another touch to his portraiture of a peaceful, 
prosperous city. In 8. 6-8 the complete restoration of the 
exiles scattered in far countries is promised. Verses 12-15 
are an assurance of agricultural prosperity in the coming 
golden days. The people of Jerusalem and Judah must not 
fear: Jehovah has sufficiently punished his people. His 
purpose now is to do good to his people. Verses 16 and 17 
require, as a prerequisite of the coming and the continu- 
ance of the better day, that the people shall speak the truth, 
establish justice in all their dealings, and refrain from every 
unworthy thought and action in all their human relation- 
ships. 



166 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

The Messiah. — Examine 3. 8-10. What term here de- 
scribes the Messianic prince? The reference -undoubtedly 
is to Zerubhabel. The verb translated "I will bring forth" 
indicates an act taking place in the immediate future. Ob- 
serve (4. 4-14) that Zerubbabel, although the sovereignty 
of the people is divided with Joshua, is the leader of the 
community and in charge of the completion of the Temple. 
See, further, 6. 11. The text here has been altered. One 
crown was to be made and it was to be placed upon the head 
of Zerubbabel. This is clear from the fact that "the 
Branch" is to build the Temple. This person, as we have 
seen already, is Zerubbabel. In verse 13, instead of "and 
he shall be a priest upon his throne," read "and Joshua shall 
be priest upon his right hand." Thus, the new state will 
have its double rulership : Joshua at the head of the system 
of worship, and Zerubbabel, Jehovah's prince, to enforce 
the divine government. 

(a) Other religious ideas of Zechariah. — Jehovah's gov- 
ernment of the world: Read again 1. 7-15. Where is 
Jehovah's residence ? How does he keep in touch with the 
world? Observe the very important statement in verse 
15. This is the first hint in Old-Testament literature that 
the good and evil in men and nations were not directly 
authorized by Jehovah. Zechariah asserts that the nations 
that chastised Israel exceeded their instructions. Is Je- 
hovah conceived as dwelling so far above the human world 
that he does not know its happenings until his ministers 
inform him? Or could he not prevent these nations in 
the furtherance of their ends? Note in many places the 
use of angels in the divine administration. What condi- 
tions warranted the introduction of these new concep- 
tions ? 

Examine 3. 1-3 for another new character. Who is this 
Satan, and what is his business? What conditions made 
possible this addition to Jewish religious ideas? 

Observe that (in Haggai and Zechariah) Joshua is 
named continually as the head of the priestly community. 
Zechariah goes further and lifts the chief priest into the 
high priesthood, which plays such an important role in 



FROM ZECHARIAH TO NEHEMIAH 167 

later Judaism. See 3. 5, 8 for additional witness of the 
growing importance of this office. 

(b) Zechariah's fine hopes were doomed to disappoint- 
ment. There was no tumult of nations. Darius set his 
empire in better order, and his provinces were ruled in 
peace. Zerubbabel did not wear his crown, and there is 
no hint anywhere what became of him. The Temple was 
completed; but if Jehovah came to dwell in it, there was 
no outward golden age of righteousness or material splen- 
dor to witness to his presence. For the next half century 
the Jewish community struggled on bewildered and dis- 
heartened. There is no record in Jewish literature of this 
period. (It is possible that Ezra 4. 6 is an authentic his- 
torical note. This states that at the beginning of the reign 
of Ahasuerus — that is, Xerxes, 486-465 — somebody accused 
by letter the people of Judah and Jerusalem before the 
Persian emperor.) But there ever must have been a faith- 
ful band to keep hope alive. Somewhere in the earlier 
half of the fifth century, 475-458, there appeared another 
prophetic voice in the silence and the darkness to witness 
to the ideals of true religion. 

Malachi 

Malachi means "my messenger," and the word, there- 
fore, may not be the name of the writer and speaker of the 
messages of this book. 

Social Disturbances. — There are at least three leading 
evils that vitiate the religious life of Israel in Malachi's 
day, which Jehovah will visit in judgment: 

(a) The community has grown careless and indifferent 
to the Temple worship. For Malachi, as for Haggai and 
Zechariah, the Temple is the center of the nation's life. 
Like theirs, his interests are greater than the worship at 
the Temple, but he recognizes its exceeding importance 
in these troublesome times. Read 1. 6-12 and note that 
religion is not a dominant interest in the community. Of 
what does Malachi accuse the priests? In what way does 
he justify his accusation? Observe his fine perception 
that heathen worship really is offered to Jehovah; ancl 



168 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

that, because pagan peoples offer their worship sincerely 
and devotedly, although they suppose it is rendered to 
their pagan gods, Jehovah receives it more favorably than 
he does the half-hearted, disloyal worship of Jerusalem. 
The people equally were remiss. Of what are they accused 
in 1. 13, 14? What other neglect of worship is denounced 
in 3. 8, 9? 

(b) But this is not all: The old preexilic social distinc- 
tions are reappearing, and the common weal is disregarded 
by the strong: (1) Observe the priestly duties out- 
lined in 2. 5-7. How have priests, custodians, and 
teachers of the law fulfilled their responsibilities? Note 
the charge in 2. 8. (2) Consider the foreign marriage 
and divorce. Examine 2. 11 and state Malachr's objection 
to marriage with non- Jewish women. Read 2. 13-16 for 
the prophet's protest against divorce. In what words does 
he describe the grief of the divorced wives? (3) Of what 
other evils is the community guilty? (3. 5, 6). 

(c) There is yet a worse count against Israel: Some 
have grown skeptical regarding the love of Jehovah and 
the worth of religion. Examine 1. 2; 2. 17; 3. 14, 15 and 
state the nature of this doubt. What has produced this 
skepticism? What is Malachr's answer? (1. 2-5; 3. 16 to 
4.3). 

The Messianic Kingdom. — (a) The day of Jehovah. — 
As with the older prophets Jehovah's visit in judgment is 
rather upon Israel than upon the nations which have af- 
flicted the Jew. Jehovah will appear suddenly in his 
Temple (3. 1), but his appearance will be a grievous visita- 
tion. Examine 3. 1-6 ; 4. 1-6 and state the time, the man- 
ner of its coming, the purpose and the results of this judg- 
ment day. Why is Elijah thought to be the forerunner of 
this visitation? 

(b) The promise. — Examine 3. 16, 17; 4. 2, 3 and ob- 
serve the cleavage here indicated in the Jewish community 
and the promise that the pious, faithful members of the 
state shall rise into control of those before whom they now 
are abashed. What is the destined end of those who now 
neglect or despise Jehovah's ordinances? 



FEOM ZECHAEIAH TO NEHEMIAH 169 

Isaiah 56-66 

Chapters 56 to 66 in the book of Isaiah come from one 
of the dark hours of Jewish history. We cannot be cer- 
tain of their authorship. They have been spoken of by 
some as the prophecies of "the Third Isaiah." We will 
not have time to examine them all. 

(a) The dark hour. — First read Isaiah 56. 9 to 57. 13 
for a stern denunciation of selfish and sensuous leaders 
of the community and of religious practices with which 
true ethical religion could have nothing to do. What sins 
are denounced in Isaiah 56. 9-12? Examine 57. 1, 2 
and state some of the results of misrule. See also Isaiah 
59. 1-5 for another statement of the crimes of the leaders 
of the community. Examine attentively 57. 3-10 and 
observe the manifold accusations of debased worship. Sor- 
cery, unbridled sexual license in the name of worship at 
the high places, sacrifices to non-Jewish deities, phallic 
rites, and necromancy are here denounced. Read also 
65. 3, 4, 11 ; 66. 17 for an additional list of ancient super- 
stitions and pagan modes of worship. These were no re- 
cent importation into Palestinian life. They were partly 
old Canaanitish practices, which never had been eradicated 
from the life of the common folk, and partly the worship 
of the non-Jewish people settled in Palestine during the 
decadent period of the Jewish state. In this period of 
despair and through mixed marriages they had crept into 
Judaism. 

(b) The coming dawn. — This prophet believes that such 
conditions cannot endure. The wicked rulers and apos- 
tate worshipers shall be destroyed (59. 18; 60. 18; 65. 6, 7, 
11, 12). But fortunately there is another class in the 
Judean community. For those faithful loyal servants of 
Jehovah — the true Israel in the midst of these dark times 
— Jehovah's judgment brings prosperity and peace. See 
65. 9, 10, 17-25 for pictures of the restored Jewish state. 
Chapters 60 to 62 are a series of songs glorifying the Mes- 
sianic age. They are worth examining attentively. A 
Redeemer is to come to Zion (59. 20), and Jerusalem is 



170 THE KELIGION" OF JUDAH 

exhorted to exalt herself in the glory of Jehovah. What 
are the elements of this golden age ? Exilic Jews and wan- 
dering Gentiles shall resort to Jerusalem (60. 3, 4) ; the 
wealth of the world shall stream into Palestine (60. 5- 
17); injustice and misrule shall have ceased (60. 18). 
State the striking conception of this City of God in 60. 19- 
22. Who is the speaker in 61. 1-3 ? To whom does he speak 
in 61. 5-7? In 61. 10, 11 restored Israel voices her hap- 
piness. The prophet (62. 1-5) again resumes his predic- 
tions of the golden age and declares that he will not cease 
his preaching until the Messianic times dawn. 

Summary 

This lesson is a survey of the religious life of the Pales- 
tinian Jews during the extremely despairing years from 
the rebuilding of the second Temple (520-516) to the 
arrival of Nehemiah (445). During these seventy-five 
years the outward fortunes of the community have not im- 
proved. Within the Jewish state two parties have arisen: 
one with its liking for non-Jewish religious practices, its 
disregard for justice and righteousness, its pride and 
skepticism, and its reliance upon ritual at the expense of 
righteousness; the other represented by the prophets, who 
cling to Jehovah, worship him in the spirit of the old 
Deuteronomic reformers, and believe that Jehovah will 
reward them and justify himself by an approaching ad- 
vent to judgment upon the nations and upon Jerusalem. 

There are three phases of this judgment program which 
dominated the thinking of this second party in the days 
immediately preceding the arrival of Nehemiah : (a) The 
postponement of the nation's final deliverance from its 
troubles is due to the prevalence of evils within the Jewish 
community at Jerusalem. "Your iniquities have separated 
between you and your God" (59. 2) is the Third Isaiah's 
analysis of the community's forlornness and desolation. 
(b) Jehovah no longer will seek for a human helper to 
usher in the better day. He alone will deliver his people. 
"His own arm brought salvation" (59. 16) ; "I have trod- 
den the winepress alone" (63. 3). (c) While the Jewish 



FEOM ZECHAEIAH TO NEHEMIAH 171 

state, having suffered so long at the hands of the nations, 
is to be ministered unto by the nations, there is an echo 
of the "servant mission" of the nation. The people shall 
become a priestly nation : it will be its function to mediate 
between nations and Jehovah (61. 6). But the transformed 
city undertakes no distant missions. Gentilic worship is 
acceptable only when performed at Jerusalem (56. 7). 
The Temple becomes a universal house of prayer only for 
those who are drawn to Jerusalem by its glory. 

The Progress of the Kingdom 

There are dark hours for the kingdom builders in every 
land and age. The modern Christian war cry, "The 
world for Christ in our generation !" and the rapid po- 
litical and social changes in non-Christian lands sent a 
thrill of expectation and the hope of a speedy universal 
triumph of the kingdom of God into the faintest heart. 
The world war with the central empires of Europe checked 
this optimism. There are weary years still to be traversed 
by the undaunted disciples of Christ. Progress never is 
thrust upon a man or a people. We progress by becoming 
progressives. We live by keeping our souls alive to the 
things worth while. Dark years there will always be for 
the individual and the nation whose soul is not lit im- 
periously with the splendor of the world that ought to be. 

Yet no age is hopeless whose darkness is not accepted 
apathetically. This Jewish half century following the 
completion of the second Temple, lacking in faith and 
heroism and wanting great statesmanship, carried at its 
heart burning protests against social injustice, sensual 
evils, and formal worship. The man, the city, or the civil- 
ization whose evils awaken no condemnation within is 
hopelessly dead. As long as sin arouses the passionate 
protest of conscience, there is a living chance for God's 
kingdom to come. 

It seems a little thing to lift only a protesting voice. 
To draw a sword against unrighteousness seems far more 
worth while. To frame a law, to hale a criminal into its 



173 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

outraged presence, to possess executive power, seems some- 
thing to be coveted; but to be only a voice crying out 
against evil in a wilderness of wrong seems so futile. But 
without unceasing moral protest the legislator draws up 
his code in vain, the judge in vain calls his court, and 
vainly does the executive seek to punish evil. Go, then, 
bravely to your unending moral duty of condemning wrong 
and praising virtue ; talk earnestly against every individual 
and community evil. It is your protest that saves society 
from rottenness and despair. 

We must learn to value in its true proportions bold and 
vigorous speech in the face of oppression, vice, ignorance, 
temptation, and soulless tradition. The world learns 
slowly to admire the patriotism of the social reformer. To 
brave alone the oppression of a dominant social class, the 
evils rooted in the habits of a people, the wrongs that 
enrich the unscrupulous, requires a loftier courage than 
to swing into battle intoxicated by its danger. The world 
has seen no finer devotion to duty than the unwelcome 
messages of the Hebrew prophets. Our civilization often 
seems coarse and brutal. Measured by our ideals, the race 
has not journeyed far from savagery. Yet when progress is 
tested by the tears and the blood of those prophets and 
martyrs who loved their fellow men enough to brave their 
ignorant hate unto death, we seem to have reached the 
hills of heaven. Our political and religious liberty is con- 
secrated by an innumerable host of heroes. They were 
not silent in the face of injustice and tyranny. Wicked- 
ness could not frown them down. Their vision of what 
ought to be inspired them to denounce existing evils, and 
their feeling for the oppressed elected them to the general- 
ship of the straggling army of the common man. 

Test Questions 

1. What is Zechariah's valuation of the sacrificial ritual? 

2. Why were men like Zechariah and Malachi, who saw so 
clearly the evils of ritualistic worship, so interested in the 
Temple? 

3. How is the rise of the belief in angels to be accounted 
for? What is their function? 



FKOM ZECHARIAH TO NEHEMIAH 173 

4. What is the position and function of Satan in the gov- 
ernment of the world? 

5. Why did the prophets so frequently associate the in- 
auguration of the Messianic era with world-wide political 
disturbances? 

6. To what extent was the blessed era dependent on human 
initiative? 

7. How may the fact be accounted for that although the 
Messianic predictions remained unfulfilled, the hope of the 
golden age continually reappears in Jewish prophecy? 

8. What prophets thus far studied expected a Messiah? 

9. What are the leading characteristics of the Messianic 
reign? 

10. Why does the Messianic hope become a more prominent 
subject of prophecy after the destruction of Jerusalem than it 
was with the preexilic writers? 

Works of Reference 

Old-Testament History, Peritz, pages 246-53. 
A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 144-66. 
Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, Chapter XII. 
Articles "Angel" and "Satan," Dictionary of the Bible, 
Hastings. 



CHAPTER XVII 
NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFORMER 

The preceding chapter carried the story of Israel's re- 
ligion to the year 445 B. C. The building of the Temple, 
completed in 516, was followed by an extended period of 
distress in the Jewish community. Chapter XVI pre- 
sented the dominant religious ideas and leaders during 
that period of stagnation. The present chapter is a study 
chiefly of the mission and achievements of Nehemiah. This 
man, whose influence was so far-reaching in the develop- 
ment of Judaism, was one of the Babylonian Jews and 
a cupbearer to Artaxerxes I, the Persian king. This 
was a position of great importance and it gave Nehe- 
miah a rare chance to advance the fortunes of his country- 
men. 

The order of events at this period is a greatly contro- 
verted question. Whether Ezra preceded or followed 
Nehemiah in Jerusalem is a difficult problem. No uni- 
versally satisfactory solution of the difficulty has been 
found. The chronological order of their labors adopted 
here and in the next chapter assigns Nehemiah's first visit 
to Jerusalem in the years 445-433, his second visit about 
425, and Ezra's some years later. 

The First Visit of Nehemiah 

Nehemiah, Governor of Judah. — Read 1. 1 to 2. 11. 
Who was Nehemiah? Where was he living, and what 
was he doing? What awakened his new interest in Jeru- 
salem ? The student will observe the emphasis* upon 
prayer in these memoirs of Nehemiah. It seems to me 
likely that the memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah were used 
by a chronicler to write the book Ezra-Nehemiah, and that 
he found a brief prayer of Nehemiah's recorded and elabo- 
rated it into the petition recorded in 1. 5-11. But the 

174 



NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFOEMEB 175 

prayer may well express the religious convictions of 
thoughtful Jews in the midst of the distresses of the mid- 
dle of the fifth century. Note especially the ideas of deity : 
character, relation to Israel, and the nature of his demands 
from his people. Also, observe the explanation of the peo- 
ple's afflictions. What is the immediate object of this 
prayer? In what manner was the way opened for Nehe- 
miah to make his request? What did Nehemiah wish to 
do? What commission did he receive? What is said of 
the journey? Sanballat was governor of Samaria at this 
time, and his opposition expresses the Samaritan antago- 
nism toward Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah in Jerusalem. — (a) His first measure. — Eead 
2. 12-20 and explain Nehemiah's need for secrecy and 
the twofold reception of his prosposal to rebuild the walls. 

(b) The building of the wall and the Samaritan opposi- 
tion. — The third chapter of Nehemiah, describing the 
towns and guilds at work upon the fortifications, may be 
read only by the most studious. Eead chapter 4. What 
were the first measures taken by the Samaritan party to 
frustrate the purpose of Nehemiah? To what additional 
methods did they resort? (4. 8). In what way was this 
new danger met by Nehemiah? Note again Nehemiah's 
resort to prayer. 

(c) Further efforts to stop the fortifications of Jerusa- 
lem (chapter 6). — What was the device of Sanballat and 
his party to get Nehemiah into their hands ? State the man- 
ner in which the governor avoided the trap. What was 
Sanballat's next attempt to overthrow the work of Nehe- 
miah, and how was the attack met? State the third 
conspiracy and its outcome. Note especially the character 
of the numerous prophets at this period. One other at- 
tempt to thwart the high endeavors of Nehemiah is men- 
tioned. Consider the statement and explain the purpose 
of this correspondence. 

(d) The defense and the repopulation of Jerusalem. — 
In 7. 1-3 it is stated that when wall and gates were com- 
pletely restored, gatekeepers were appointed, and the city's 
defense placed in charge of Hananiah, captain of the for- 



176 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

tress, and Hanani, Nehemiah' s brother — men of un- 
doubted trustworthiness. Sentries sufficient to guard the 
walls were stationed at regular intervals. The city, now 
that it was secure with walls, became suitable for resi- 
dence, and Nehemiah called a conference of nobles, rulers, 
and the people. The chiefs, or rulers, alone seem to have 
resided within the city at the time of the completion of 
the walls (11. 1). The people were asked to volunteer to 
leave their villages to reside in Jerusalem and were highly 
praised for their sacrifice (11. 2). But not enough volun- 
teered to satisfy the rulers, and a tenth of the surround- 
ing population was chosen by lot (11. 1). Since the busi- 
ness of the Jewish community at this time was almost 
wholly agricultural, it involved a hardship upon those 
who lived by daily manual toil to reside in the city. 

The Social Distress of the Judagan Community. — Read 
Nehemiah 5. These conditions arose after the people 
were induced to settle in the city and near the close of 
the twelve years that made up Nehemialr's first visit to 
Jerusalem. Note the three forms in which the economic 
distress presented itself to the men and women who suf- 
fered thereby: overcrowded population, scanty harvests, 
and the royal tax. What measures were forced upon these 
poorer people to meet these emergencies ? What especially 
constituted the bitterness of the situation? In what way 
did Nehemiah rectify these wrongs ? Note the two classes 
upon whom Nehemiah laid the responsibility for these 
intolerable conditions. What rare tribute to Nehemiah's 
character is given in 5. 8? What incredible perfidy of 
the Jerusalem nobles is narrated in this same verse? 
Verse 10 should be corrected to read, "I myself have lent 
the people money and grain, but I have not accepted inter- 
est/' What definite demand does the governor now make 
of the nobles? Observe that the nobles are made to take 
oath before the priests to fulfill their promise to Nehemiah. 
What further act of Nehemialr's tended to make certain 
the restitution of property? State definitely the public 
service rendered by Nehemiah in supporting the finances 
of the feeble state. 



NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFORMER 177 

The Second Administration of Nehemiah 

Nehemiah, who undoubtedly had remained away from 
the court of Artaxerxes longer than either he or his mon- 
arch had anticipated, at the end of twelve years returned 
to the Persian capital. How long he remained at Susa 
is not known. Since his royal patron died in 425 B. C, 
and since Eliashib was still high priest, and Tobiah was 
still living to arouse the antagonism of the stricter Jew- 
ish party, Nehemiah could not have been absent from 
Jerusalem more than four or five years. 

Read Nehemiah 13. 1-9. The task of the stricter Jews 
to build up the state of their desires was exceedingly 
difficult. It may be assumed that Nehemiah was not slack 
in correcting religious and moral abuses during the 
twelve years of his first governorship. But during his 
absence a weaker governor was unable to prevent either a 
neglect of worship and ritual or social injustice on the 
part of Jewish leaders. The tithes were not paid, and 
in consequence of this fact certain rooms in the Temple 
were not in use. Eliashib, the high priest, in violation 
of a Deuteronomic law (23. 3-5), had altered the interior 
rooms of the Temple to provide a dwelling place for his 
kinsman Tobiah. This action was irregular in two par- 
ticulars: Tobiah was not a priest nor was he a Jew. Ne- 
hemiah curtly remarks that he was not at Jerusalem when 
Eliashib made these arrangements. It was short work 
for the returned governor to eject Tobiah's household 
stuff from the Temple and restore the rooms for the pur- 
pose intended. 

The people had grown careless in the presentation of 
tithes. As a result of the scarcity of revenue the Levites 
and the Temple singers were forced to leave the city and 
cultivate their fields. Nehemiah (13. 10-14) compelled 
the resumption of payment of tithes of grain, wine, and 
oil, and appointed trustworthy persons to distribute them 
to the various Temple officials whose support came from 
such tithes. 

Read 13. 15-22. The energetic spirit and religious 



178 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

zeal of the governor is revealed further in his compulsion 
of a better Sabbath observance. Apparently no distinc- 
tion was being made between the Sabbath and the other 
days of the week. Labor in fields and vineyards went on, 
farmers brought their goods to the city for sale, and even 
a Tyrian fish market was permitted on the day that, for 
many centuries, had been designated a day of rest by 
Jewish law. Nehemiah reproached the leaders for this 
open violation of Jewish religion and warned them that 
such conduct would bring upon the struggling community 
the calamities that the sins of their fathers in earlier times 
had brought upon Jerusalem. The city gates, by Nehe- 
miah's orders, were closed during the Sabbath. But the 
industrious merchants held their markets outside the walls, 
and the conscienceless citizens went forth and traded as 
usual. Then Nehemiah threatened them with arrest and 
punishment, and the evil ceased. 

Eead 13. 23-29. Other laws of Deuteronomy had been 
set aside by the careless and easy-going community. Jews 
had intermarried with foreigners, and these mixed mar- 
riages were not confined to the humble citizens. Even a 
grandson of the high priest Eliashib had married a daugh- 
ter of Sanballat, governor of Samaria and one of Nehe- 
mian's most persistent enemies. The governor applied 
heroic remedies. He expostulated with the men for their 
conduct, cursed them, struck some of them, and plucked out 
the hair of others. The son-in-law of Sanballat was ex- 
pelled from Jerusalem. Under such persuasion Nehemiah 
was able to obtain a promise under oath that mixed mar- 
riages should cease. 

These various reforms — and, undoubtedly, there were 
many others whose record has not come down to us — 
indicate the danger into which the Jerusalem community 
had fallen. There were probably two reasons for this 
recurring laxness : With the destruction of Jerusalem and 
the devastation of Judah by the Babylonians neighbor- 
ing peoples had pressed into Jewish territory. In many 
cases fields and villages were largely in the hands of the 
former neighbors of Judah. Carelessness toward Jewish 



NEHEMIAH: BUILDEE AND EEFOEMEE 179 

worship naturally would result from the presence of 
these foreigners. Intermarriage, natural under the cir- 
cumstances, added to the neglect of Jewish rites. Nehe- 
miah discovered that there were children of Jews who 
could not speak the Jewish tongue. Then, too, the re- 
peated failure of Messianic prophecy tended toward lax- 
ness of religion. A century had passed since a line of 
prophets had begun to preach that the dawning of the 
Messianic age was at hand. These hopes of a grand and 
blessed Jewish state remained unfulfilled. Naturally, a 
spirit of skepticism pervaded priests and nobles, and con- 
sequently they drifted into a selfish pessimism, which con- 
tented itself with getting out of life the best for them- 
selves. It was of the highest moment in the progress of 
Jewish religion that a man like Nehemiah spent a dozen 
years and more as governor of Judah and maintained an 
oversight of Jewish affairs through two decades in which 
the spirit and institutions of Judaism were in greatest 
jeopardy. 

Attitude of the People Toward Nehemiah 

Nehemiah was an energetic and strong-willed man. He 
knew what was needed in Jerusalem, and his own patriotic, 
unselfish, and unflagging devotion to religion enabled him 
to carry through his reforms. The office of governor, his 
position in the Persian court, his wealth, his armed re- 
tainers, and the friends he made among the Levites by his 
advocacy of their cause all contributed to his success. But 
he had arrayed against him many of the priests and nobles 
of Judah. There was much opposition to his ideas and 
reforms. He made many enemies. There is one fine piece 
of literary evidence of this opposition which has been 
preserved for us in the Old-Testament canon. It is the 
book of Euth. Nehemiah reminded the men of Jerusa- 
lem that the marriage of Solomon with foreign women, 
notwithstanding his greatness, was a grievous sin that 
stained his character. Some priest, scribe, or noble re- 
plied to this argument by writing the beautiful story of 
Euth, the Moabitess. Marriage with foreigners cannot be 



180 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

such a great offense, is the argument of this book, for 
David himself was the descendant of a foreigner. From 
the house of David we expect our Messianic prince to 
come. How, then, in the light of this illustrious example 
of Judah's kings, can our marriage with these foreigners 
who have come to live among us be so sinful? Whatever 
we think of the beautiful devotion of Euth, Nehemiah 
would have seen in this story only the fact that the Davidic 
line had been vitiated by the introduction of Moabitish 
blood. 

Summaby 

Nehemiah is the leading figuie of the Palestinian Jews 
for at least two decades (445-424 B. C). His memoirs, 
part of which are now incorporated in the Biblical Nehe- 
miah, possess the highest historical value. They show 
us the spirit of Judaism at work in its earliest years. 
Judaism is essentially a religious state, separated by race 
and by religion from the remainder of the world, this 
separatist policy being continually fanned by a growing 
fanaticism for Jewish law and customs. It must be borne 
in mind, however, that the perils of the Persian, Greek, and 
Eoman periods of Jewish history, apart from this rise of 
Judaism, would have crushed the political and religious 
life of Israel. Therefore, the work of Nehemiah in re- 
building the walls and the enforced purging of the com- 
munity of alien elements are of great moment in the devel- 
opment of the kingdom of God. 

Consider, again, the obstacles overcome by Nehemiah. 
The high priestly rulers and nobles, intrenched in au- 
thority and wealth, were indifferent to the Deuteronomic 
provisions for worship and the welfare of the poorer mem- 
bers of the community. Many of these leaders, despite 
remonstrance and warning, continued to marry into non- 
Jewish families and so endangered the purity of language, 
blood, and religion. After the destruction of the city in 
586 B. C, Ammonite, Edomite, Bedouin, and Philistine 
pressed in upon Judah. To what extent these neighbors 
occupied the territory of Judah in Nehemiah's day is not 



NEHEMIAH: BUILDEK AND REFORMER 181 

clear. But the plans of Nehemiah to give the Jewish state 
"a place in the sun" awoke the hostility of these foreigners. 
Into this enfeebled Jewish community, yielding to the 
pressure of conditions in Palestine, Nehemiah came intent 
upon building up a compact, righteous, and rigidly Jew- 
ish state. It was no slight task. That he succeeded lifts 
him high among the heroes and leaders of the kingdom of 
God in Israel. 

His contribution to Israel's religion wears at least four 
aspects: As the builder of the walls, the encourager of 
the repopulation of the city, and the upholder of strict 
separatist views, his governorship in Jerusalem was pro- 
foundly significant in the development of Judaism. With- 
out a walled city there could be no check to the growing 
impurity of race and worship. It is apparent from these 
studies that the Babylonian Jews surpassed the Pales- 
tinian community in their purer and finer conceptions of 
religion. The vigorous rule and unflinching self-denial 
of Nehemiah prepared the way for Ezra and a stricter 
code by accustoming the Jews of Jerusalem to the deep 
sympathy and high ideals of the Jews of the dispersion. 
Then, Nehemiah again asserted the older prophetic identi- 
fication of religion and ethics. Social justice again was 
enthroned as the soul of piety. Finally, his exhibit of 
generous, high-minded, self-reliant, courageous patriot- 
ism and his devotion to Jehovah, expressed in a life of 
prayer, loyalty to the Deuteronomic worship, and unstinted 
self-sacrifice in the working out of Jehovah's purposes for 
Israel, became a lasting benediction to the Jewish people. 
More than two centuries later Jesus ben Sirach, reviewing 
the fortunes of his people (Ecclesiasticus 49. 13), says of 
Nehemiah : 

"The memorial of Nehemiah is great, 

Who raised up for us the walls that were fallen, 

And set up the gates and bars, 

And raised up our homes again." 

A Blue Print for Modern Builders of Civilization 
A man is known by his enemies. Never to arouse antag- 



182 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

onism is never to produce results. "If it be possible, . . . 
be at peace with all men," is a Pauline injunction. It is 
not possible for a man of God to be at peace with all men. 
Progressives always arouse the distrust and wrath of con- 
servatives. If you insist upon political righteousness, just 
courts, equitable distribution of the profits of toil, the 
abolition of the saloon, prostitution, gambling, and a cor- 
rupt theater, you will make enemies. Do not worry about 
them. Thank God that you have enough moral and spirit- 
ual vision and enough spine to make enemies of this sort. 
Greed is the chief enemy of the kingdom of God. Evils 
exist because there is money in them. Selfish grasping 
at wealth is the chief antagonist of human brotherhood. 
"To be ministered unto" is the chief motto of far too many 
who count themselves moral and Christian. This is not 
the motto of the Christ, nor upon it can be founded an 
enduring civilization. He who would be great in the civil- 
ization yet to come must be the servant of his fellow men. 

This is the supreme, essential, and insistent lesson to 
be learned in the fashioning of great character: Self-re- 
nunciation is the one open door to immortality. Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, Nehemiah, Jesus, Paul — what a galaxy of Jew- 
ish glory! Dare we forget that they won their kingdom 
by paths of heroic ministry, self-renunciation, the choice of 
a cause instead of the pursuit of a career? 

How do men become the servants and the saviors of the 
world? What enables them to rise above petty and mean 
motives and ambitions ? Is it not the inspiring conscious- 
ness of a holy cause ? They believe in a program of God. 
They do not feel that the age — its beliefs and institutions, 
its good and evil — is final. Seeing this high purpose of 
God to lift the world into resplendent triumphs, they set 
themselves to the high cause that has glowed upon them 
from the love and will of God. Their lives and their 
labors become consecrated to his purposes. It is this con- 
sciousness of being God's servants which transforms them 
into man's saviors. 

There is a vast deal of cowardice in life. Sin flaunts 
itself upon the streets, violates the laws, lays intolerable 



NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFORMER 183 

burdens upon the poor, corrupts the patriotism of the 
wealthy and the educated; and the prophets who lift their 
protest are jailed or jeered. We need Nehemiahs : men in 
high position to champion causes whose opponents are 
intrenched in wealth, political position, and social pres- 
tige. Prosperity often kills the prophets, and social func- 
tions dig their graves. Men are afraid of a minority. 
They do not taste the joys of great individuality. Let 
someone with the genius of Milton arise to write another 
epic of rebellion. Let it not be the sad and distant story 
of an anger's revolt in heaven, but the sorrowful and tragic 
story of men and women in rebellion against ignorant 
and vicious custom and tradition. This poem should 
weave ivy around the brows of social meddlers, cranks, 
iconoclasts, and destroyers of special privilege; it should 
set crowns upon patriots, adventurers, discoverers, re- 
formers, and apostles. It should sink into oblivion the 
human stumbling stones of progress. It should pass 
Dante's judgment upon the builders of ghettos, the de- 
fenders of caste, the priestly custodians of ignorant tradi- 
tion, the fomenters of class hate and class struggles, and 
the selfish bullies who block the roads of liberty for the 
common man. This new epic of humanity should sing the 
heroism and the courage and the faith of the minority: 
the few in every age unto whom God whispers his pur- 
poses and into whose trustful and obedient souls he flashes 
bits of bis coming golden day. 

Questions to Be Discussed 

1. Under what conditions did Nehemiah resort to prayer, 
and to what extent did his praying contribute to his success? 

2. Why was the building of the walls of Jerusalem so essen- 
tial to the development of the religious life of the Jews? 

3. Who were the chief antagonists of Nehemiah, and why 
did they oppose the fortification of Jerusalem? 

4. Contrast the city of Jerusalem of 445 and 425 B. C. 

5. Recall the statements made in Chapter IX concerning 
tithes, and state what changes have taken place concerning 
tithes. Why were the people now so reluctant to pay the 
tithe? What action in the matter was taken by Nehemiah? 

6. What was the danger to Israel in the mixed marriages? 



184: THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

Estimate the success of Nehemiah in putting a stop to such 
alliances. How did others of the community view such mar- 
riages? 

7. How do you account for the prevailing transgression of 
the law of Sabbath observance? What measures were taken 
by the governor to enforce the law? 

8. To what extent in this period did the people resort to 
the Temple and participate in its ritual of sacrifice? 

9. Aside from Nehemiah what individuals and classes of 
persons are leaders in the community? 

Works of Reference 

A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 153-94. 
Old-Testament History, Peritz, pages 254-9. 
Introduction to the Old Testament, McFadyen, pages 290-3. 
Ezra and Nehemiah: Their Lives and Times, Rawlinson, 
pages 150-82. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 

It will be recalled that the Deuteronomic Code, pro- 
\ mulgated by Josiah in Jerusalem, 621 B. C, took prece- 
dence over the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 21-23) and 
all other earlier fragmentary Hebrew laws. This code 
was regarded as the authoritative Hebrew code until the 
destruction of Jerusalem. Many of its provisions, being 
incompatible with the Exile, were disregarded for a time; 
but with the rebuilding of the Temple and the city this code 
again became the highest authority in the Jewish com- 
munity. 

Events during the fifth and fourth centuries seem to 
demand for their explanation the statement that among 
Babylonian Jews, beginning with Ezekiel and continuing 
to Ezra, there was a continuous process of codifying the 
ritual practices of - past centuries and of the issuing of 
new laws. Not only were the exilic days bright with 
prophecy, but the priest also was active in setting forth 
in new codes the truths that the destruction of Jerusalem 
had brought home to him. By the time of Ezra, in the 
earliest years of the fourth pre-Christian century, the 
two collections of laws in the books of Leviticus and Num- 
bers, now called the Holiness Code and the Priests' Code, 
were in existence, together with a historical setting nar- 
rating the origin of the Jewish people and their sacred 
institutions. 

Ezra and the Introduction of the Priests' Code 

There are no more difficult problems in Old-Testament 
study than the questions raised in the attempt to determine 
the facts of Ezra's mission and ministry. The importance 
of his work is generally recognized. More than any other 
he contributed to the development of legal religion, which 

185 



186 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

molded the life of the Jewish world for the last four pre- 
Christian centuries and which continues still to give Jew- 
ish thought its characteristic features. 

Chapters 7 to 10 of the book of Ezra and 8 to 10 of 
the book of Nehemiah contain portions of the memoirs of 
Ezra. From the most reliable portions of these chapters 
it seems that Ezra, a Babylonian Jew, some time after 
Nehemiah's second visit to Jerusalem, disturbed by re- 
ports of the intimacy of the Jewish leaders with the 
Samaritans and feeling that the religious life of the Ju- 
dsean Jew's was not such as pleased Jehovah, obtained from 
the Persian monarch Artaxerxes II (405-358 B. C.) a 
firman, or imperial permit, to repair to Jerusalem, with 
certain privileges, in order to set the religious life in 
better order. Ezra 7. 27, 28, taken from Ezra's memoirs, 
indicates in general terms the Persian king's firman and 
Ezra's efforts to secure it. Pursuant to this imperial grant 
Ezra assembled quite a company of exiles at some point on 
the river Ahava (8. 15). Ezra 8. 15-29 is a further quota- 
tion from Ezra's memoirs. Upon the discovery that there 
were no Levites in the company Ezra sent messengers to the 
Jewish settlement at Casiphia, imploring the Levites to ac- 
company the expedition. Several responded to this appeal. 
Since the Levites were the descendants of the country 
priests who were compelled to give up their positions at the 
time of Josiah's reform in 621 B. C, and because the newer 
legislation gave the descendants of the Jerusalem priests 
preference over these Levites, the latter were reluctant to 
return to Jerusalem, where this difference would be ac- 
centuated. 

The journey to Jerusalem, undertaken without a guard 
(8. 22), required about three and a half months. See 8. 
24, 25, 28, 29 for gifts brought from Babylonia and the 
care taken to deliver them faithfully. Ezra 8. 31-36 nar- 
rates the end of the journey, the delivery of the treasures 
into the hands of the Temple priests, and the sacrifices 
of thanksgiving offered for the safe arrival. Shortly after 
his arrival in Jerusalem, Ezra was informed that Levites, 
priests, and other leaders of the community had married 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 187 

non-Jewish women. Ezra was overwhelmed at this dis- 
loyalty to Jehovah. Eead 9. 1-11, 13-15 for Ezra's concep- 
tion of the sinfulness of these mixed marriages. Note 
especially verse 7. What is Ezra's reading of his people's 
history? Chapter 10 continues the account. Just what 
part of this chapter is quoted from Ezra's memoirs has 
not been determined. The people in a great assembly ap- 
pointed a commission to examine into these mixed mar- 
riages. One hundred and three men were found to have 
taken foreign wives. From them was exacted an oath 
that they would divorce these non-Jewish women. No 
statement is made that they did so. It was done, no 
doubt, in some cases. One other act attributed to Ezra 
seems quite probable. The event is narrated in Nehemiah 
8. 1-12. According to this account Ezra read in the pres- 
ence of a great assembly a book of law. The eifect upon 
the people (Nehemiah 8. 9) was undoubtedly due to their 
fear of the penalty for their past disobedience. One gets 
the impression that this code of laws is now heard for 
the first time by the Judaean community. 

What is the code that is now introduced into Jewish 
life? No answer free from objections ever has been given. 
But the most satisfactory supposition is that the code 
introduced by Ezra shortly after the opening of the fourth 
century was a collection of laws made up of what are 
now called the Holiness Code and the Priestly Code. 
Though a vast amount of difficulty attaches to the study 
of Jewish law, it is desirable that something should be 
known concerning these codes. 

The Holiness Code 

The group of laws known as the Holiness Code is found 
in Leviticus 17 to 26. This code was compiled during the 
Exile by some Babylonian Jew or group of such exiles. 
Without doubt it assembles the decisions of the priests at 
various sanctuaries and thus reflects ancient usage. At 
the same time it expresses the conviction that the broken 
harmony between Jehovah and his people, evidenced by the 



188 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

Exile, can be restored only by the creation of a holy nation 
in whose midst the holy Deity will be content to dwell. 
Such sanctity of the nation can be secured only through a 
carefully guarded ritual of sacrifice at Jerusalem. This 
code was designed, like EzekiePs code, to be used by the 
Jews of Judah and Jerusalem who had not been carried 
into captivity. The compiler and author may have hoped 
that its acceptance and use at Jerusalem would hasten the 
return of the exiles. 

Leviticus 19 illustrates the method of the compiler of 
the Holiness Code. The chapter is made up of ancient 
decisions given by the priests at the sanctuaries, except 
verses 21, 22, with a few phrases added to give the point 
of view of the compiler. This chapter should be examined 
carefully. It has been called "a brief manual of moral in- 
struction, perhaps the best representative of the ethics of 
ancient Israel." The author of the Holiness Code desires 
to secure the holiness of his people; and although he em- 
phasizes ceremonial holiness (Leviticus 21. 16-24; 22. 3-9 
and elsewhere), he also recognizes the necessity of right 
personal relationships to secure the commendation of Je- 
hovah. In this code the teachings of the prophets are 
not wholly obscured. Keeping in mind the author's aim 
to point out the way of holiness, read carefully chapter 19 
and list the moral requirements here demanded. What 
ceremonial paths to holiness are recognized in this 
chapter ? 

Observe that there are several holy things that the 
people are warned not to profane — namely: the name of 
Jehovah (18. 21; 19. 12; 20. 3); the various sacrifices 
(19. 8; 22. 15); the sanctuary (21. 12, 23); and the 
priesthood (22. 8, 9). To profane these things is to treat 
them commonly: to set aside their connection with the 
worship of Jehovah and to neglect to pay them the 
regard and reverence which Jehovah deserves from every- 
one. Two instances of the manner in which Jehovah's 
name may be profaned — that is, treated with discourtesy — 
are given in Leviticus 19. 12 ; 20. 3. It should be noted too 
that the Jewish people themselves are similarly holy : from 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 189 

all nations they have been separated to serve the holy 
Jehovah (19. 2; 20. 7, 26). 

The Priestly Code 

About the year 500 B. C. another collection, or formu- 
lation, of Jewish law was made, quite probably among the 
Babylonian Jews. This group of laws was set in a his- 
torical framework designed to relate the origin of Jewish 
religious rites and institutions. The purpose of this work, 
like the Holiness Code, was to win the favor and protection 
of Jehovah by raising up a holy people in whose midst he 
could dwell. It is not easy to fix precisely the limits of 
this code. Undoubtedly additions were made to it at least 
during the next one hundred years. This priestly writing, 
with its additions, however, is sharply enough set apart 
from other Pentateuchal material. Exodus 25 to 31 is a 
part of this Priestly Code. This section narrates the erec- 
tion of an elaborate building for worship in the wilder- 
ness which was moved from place to place by the Israelites 
in their journeyings. If such a place of worship was con- 
structed, it is strange that the books of Samuel and Kings, 
which sketch the history of the Hebrews from the time 
of the judges to the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
Babylonians, make no mention of this Tabernacle. Neither 
do the prophets refer to it in any way. The worship of 
the Hebrews during all these centuries was not the wor- 
ship such a structure required. The author of the 
Priestly Code regarded this Tabernacle as the only place 
where Jehovah was to be worshiped (Exodus 25. 8, 22 and 
29. 42), and Aaron and his descendants to be the only 
legitimate persons to offer sacrifice (29. 44). But our 
studies have shown that until the destruction of Jerusalem 
in 586 B. C. Jehovah was worshiped at many sanctuaries, 
and that no voice was lifted in condemnation of such wor- 
ship until Josiah carried through his reforms in 621 
B. C. Nor was the offering of sacrifice limited to the 
Aaronic line. It was not even the affair of priests alone. 
Thus, at every turn the student is met by the fact that the 
actual worship of the Hebrews for many centuries was 



190 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

not the worship required by the Tabernacle described in 
Exodus 25-31, 40. The conclusion seems reasonable that 
the Tabernacle described by the author of the Priestly 
Code was his way of expressing an ideal of worship for his 
own time. His contemporaries must have so understood 
him. Our confusion in the matter could scarcely have 
been theirs. 

Exodus 35-40 also belong to this code, but they add 
little to what is found in the previous chapters. Leviticus 
1-16 and 27, together with Numbers 1-10; 15. 1-36; 16. 
35; 19; 25. 6 to 36, include nearly the whole of the Pen- 
tateuchal legislation belonging to the Priests' Code. 

The Code Introduced by Ezra 

While the precise limits of the legislation introduced 
by Ezra are not known, the two codes examined above 
must have constituted the new body of laws now formally 
adopted by the Jewish community. The Holiness Code, 
accepted by the author or compiler of the Priests' Code, 
already was imbedded in the heart of the later document. 

Not long after Ezra's mission ended, the whole Pen- 
tateuch took the form in which we have it now. Accord- 
ing to Josephus, the only Jewish historian who fixes a 
date for the separation of the Samaritans from the Jews, 
this event took place at the time of Alexander the Great's 
invasion of Syria, about 330 B. C. Since the Samaritans 
possess the Jewish Pentateuch, the completion of the 
canon of the law occurred long enough before this date 
to give it sanctity in the eyes of the schismatics. There- 
fore, the priestly conception of religion, the essential char- 
acteristic of Judaism, was fixed little later than Ezra. 
Indeed, one may think of Ezra as having completed what 
Ezekiel had begun: the establishment of a theocratic peo- 
ple in whose midst the residence of their holy Jehovah was 
secured by an elaborate system of holy ritual. 

The Meaning of Holiness 

Holiness and TTncleanness. — In primitive religion little 
distinction is made between holiness and uncleanness. Ee- 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 191 

ligious persons, priests, chief or king, and those in some 
temporarily unique relation to society — for example, 
mourners, mothers at childbirth, warriors on a campaign, 
girls at pubertal age, homicides, lepers — have imposed 
upon them the same restrictions. There is something 
mysterious about them. Ordinary people shrink from 
them. Close association with their fellows would bring 
others into the same weird, uncanny, and dreadful condi- 
tion. Such persons are dangerous: they must be secluded 
from the rest of the world; they are taboo. 

This principle underlies much of the priestly legisla- 
tion. Leviticus 10. 10 thus correlates holiness and un- 
cleanness. The opposite of holiness is the common, and 
the antithesis of the unclean is the clean. Leviticus 6. 
27, 28 shows clearly this intimate connection of holiness 
and uncleanness. The flesh and, especially, the blood of 
the sin offering are holy. But the earthen vessel in which 
this flesh has been placed must be broken, and any garment 
touched by this sacred blood must be washed. The holi- 
ness of jar and dress becomes their uncleanness. 

Thus, holiness in its earliest usage has no moral signifi- 
cance ; it means merely that the person or the thing counted 
holy is restricted from common use. 

The Contagion of Holiness. — Holiness in the foregoing 
sense is contagious. It is a mysterious power that passes 
by contact back and forth between persons and things. 
Eead Leviticus 6. 25-30, which describes the ritual of the 
sin offering for offenses in which the priests were not in- 
volved. The animal presented for such sacrifice is most 
holy. Whatever touches such flesh becomes holy by virtue 
of this contact. Leviticus 6. 11, 18 expresses the same 
idea. Uncleanness also is contagious (16. 15-19). Holi- 
ness, like uncleanness, unfits one for the ordinary activities 
of life; it is something to be guarded and to be guarded 
against. 

Holiness and Perfection. — Holiness expresses the reser- 
vation of a thing or person for the use of deity. It thus 
includes the idea of separation from the ordinary activi- 
ties. It is an easy transfer from this point to the idea 



192 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

that persons and things set apart for divine use should 
be the best (Leviticus 7. 25). Since any person who had 
become unclean was barred temporarily from contact with 
his fellows, it followed that such a one should not approach 
the sanctuary (7. 21). These ideals are the moral turn- 
ing point in the priestly conceptions of holiness. Jehovah 
requires the best to serve him: physically perfect priests 
and offerings. It was from this stage of thinking that 
Isaiah and the prophets took their lofty departure, and 
even priestly legislation thereafter could not wholly ignore 
the moral meaning of holiness. 

Holiness and Morality. — It was the primary object of 
the author and compiler to fence Jewish life with such 
provisions for worship that no other deity than Jehovah 
should be adored, and none other than Jewish rites 
should be used. It was believed that such strict and rev- 
erential worship through a jealously guarded and con- 
ducted sacrificial system would win, in behalf of the Jewish 
state, Jehovah's unfailing favor. Therefore, the greater at- 
tention was paid to the ritual of worship. Yet this exces- 
sive emphasis of the cultus did not wholly obscure the moral 
meaning of holiness. The preaching of the great prophets 
was not wholly forgotten. Leviticus 5. 4-6; 6. 2-7; and 
chapter 19 inculcate some of the fundamental principles 
whose observance is necessary to achieve a stable civil- 
ization. It should be noted, also, that an injustice done 
one's fellow man is not merely a wrong done to a fellow 
mortal: it is also a sin against Jehovah. It is a viola- 
tion of the very laws of the universe ; it is an affront against 
God. To harm a neighbor thus becomes a tragedy that 
shakes the universe. The man who withholds the wages 
of an employee must reckon with God. 

Summaey 

Ezra's contributions to the religious life of his people 
were great indeed. He brought large reenforcements of 
zealous, pious Jews out of Babylonia and added them to 
the struggling Jewish community in Judah. He brought 
to Jerusalem a code of laws, some new and some old, de- 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 193 

signed to secure the presence of Jehovah in the midst of 
his people. More than any other person he contributed 
to the development of that Judaism which weathered the 
persecutions of Persian, Greek, and Eoman, and which, 
in the New Testament, becomes the starting point of 
Christianity. Ezra was the chief founder of Judaism — 
that empire of the spirit which, however much it is ex- 
pressed in ceremonial laws, was able to survive the destruc- 
tion of political states and which has survived until our 
own day. 

Underlying every theory offered to explain the origin 
and meaning of sacrifices is the fact that man in and 
through them sought to relate himself more acceptably 
to God. First fruits and animal sacrifices alike were 
intended to insure for man a greater divine aid. In the 
code introduced into the Jewish community in Palestine 
by Ezra the slain animals were not regarded as substitutes 
for sinful men and women. There was yet no concep- 
tion of man's eternal death or punishment to create the 
demand for a vicarious substitute. The ideas of the here- 
after in the times of Ezra only faintly differentiated the 
lot of the righteous and the wicked in the world of the 
dead. Punishment for wrongdoing was confined to this 
present life. Various penalties — such as fines, expulsion 
from the nation, and death — were exacted from the 
guilty. The death penalty was ordered inflicted for con- 
tact with Jehovah's sanctuary by a non-Jew (Numbers 
3. 38), desecration of the Sabbath (Numbers 15. 32-36), 
blasphemy (Leviticus 24. 16), human sacrifice to Mo- 
lech (20. 2-5), witchcraft (20. 27), bestiality (20. 15), 
harlotry (21. 9), sodomy (20. 13), incest (20. 11-14), 
adultery (20. 10), and murder (24. 17). Since punish- 
ment for evil was regarded as being complete in this life, 
and since these lawgivers did not set aside the death 
penalty for certain crimes against the social order by any 
scheme of sacrifice, it is evident that animals slain in 
sacrifice were not regarded as vicarious substitutes for 
man. This limitation of the sacrificial system is further 
emphasized by the statements "that woman shall bear her 



194 THE RELIGION OP JUBAH 

iniquity" (Numbers 5. 31) and "his iniquity shall be upon 
him" (15. 31)* 

But whatever the need and excellence of Judaism, it 
must be held that this legal religion is a distinct retro- 
gression from the prophetic ideal. The highest piety 
does not now demand an immediate consciousness of God 
revealing continually his will; the ideal now is loyalty to 
a law. The immediate relation to God is gone. This 
priestly law also set equal value upon ceremonial and 
moral actions. Such valuation of moral conduct ends in 
the ruin of ethical life. If salvation depends on obser- 
vance of this law, it follows that salvation belongs to Jews 
alone. Thus, at every turn this new legal religion is op- 
posed to the ethical religion of the prophets. It would not 
have been tolerated by an Amos, a Hosea, an Isaiah, or 
a Jeremiah. 

Beidges From the Past to the Present 

Is it enough to be sincere and good ? No kingdom build- 
ing is possible without sincerity; but sincerity can tear 
down as well as build up. These Jewish legalists were 
sincere, but they reached back into the past and brought 
again to first importance in religion conceptions that 
the prophets had done their best to make forever impotent. 
With sincerity must go the unceasing effort to understand 
what will make the highest contributions to life. No man 
or age can travel forward worthily that faces the past 
adoringly. 

Yet no man or age ever is wholly bad. These legalists 
have insisted upon the supreme obligation of religion — 
namely, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Likeness to God, 
not merely belief in God, is the supreme requirement. It 
is not so important to believe in Christ as to believe like 
Christ. When we begin to believe his beliefs, there will 
be born in us sufficient motives to regenerate the world. 

What is the value of ritual in the development of life? 
Ritual demands no initiative, no thought, no vision, no 
intellectual or spiritual break with tradition. It does not 
foster change. It clogs the progress of the moral conquest 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 195 

of society. It decries social reforms and political changes. 
It lives by a stand-pat creed. Yet Judaism, clinging to 
its ritual, has survived nineteen centuries of political an- 
nihilation; and Christian churches, with strong accentua- 
tion of ritual, wield powerful influence to-day. But is 
this influence not reactionary rather than progressive ? Is 
it alive with leadership, or is it not rather leaden with the 
weight of a past whose curse they know not how to break ? 

In one respect this priestly legislation was highly 
ethical: It was never taught that these animals, slain at 
the altar, were a substitute for sinful man. With all their 
regard for ceremony they never prostituted their moral 
sense to utter that any man's guilt could be wiped away 
by a vicarious death. "Every man that eateth the sour 
grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge" remained a live 
prophetic counsel through all priestly blundering. 

These priests believed that holiness is contagious. So 
it is, although not in the sense described by them. Ethical 
holiness ever tends to awaken similar sanctity in other 
lives. If you live by the holiest ideals, if pure motives 
and noble sympathies govern your conduct, there is some- 
thing infectious in such manhood and womanhood. The 
genuine variety is not dangerous; it is beautifully whole- 
some and imperatively necessary. Get close to God and 
you will catch it. 

Questions 

1. What is known of Ezra's personal history? What was 
his purpose in coming to Jerusalem? 

2. Why was Ezra's caravan not accompanied by a royal 
guard? 

3. What criticism is to be passed upon Ezra's historical 
perspective? See Ezra 9. 7. 

4. What reforms were accomplished by Ezra? 

5. What body of law was introduced into Jerusalem by him? 

6. Discuss the origin of the Holiness Code. State where it 
is now to be found. What purpose moved its author and com- 
piler? 

7. When did the Priests' Code come into existence? 
Where is it now to be found? What was its author's object 
in describing so minutely the tabernacle? 

8. What are holy things according to these codes? What 



196 THE RELIGION OF JtTDAH 

does it mean to profane them? Was holiness in the priestly 
sense desirable for a Jewish merchant or farmer? 

9. What great purpose did the authors or compilers of these 
codes have in mind? 

10. Compare the services rendered to Judaism by Nehemiah 
and Ezra. State the values of the rebuilding of the Temple, 
the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, and the introduction 
of the Priestly Code for the development of Judaism. 

Illustrative Readings 

Ezra and 'Nehemiah: Their Lives and Times, Rawlinson, 
pages 1-74. 

The Books of the Pentateuch, Eiselen, Chapter XVIII. 

Article "Law," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 

Sources of the Hexateuch, Brightman. The Holiness Code is 
printed on pages 293-312; the Priests* Code on pages 241- 
93, 312-35, and 345-7. 



CHAPTER XIX 
JOB: A STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 

Piety is essentially faith in and reverence for God. 
The pious man is he whose life, regulated by a supreme 
trust in a God of goodness, moves on through struggle 
and calm, through defeat and victory, with its inmost 
confidence in the Tightness of the divine administration of 
the world unshaken. Piety lies at the heart of religion. 
The creators of Hebrew religious life were pious men; 
and our studies of the prophets, the postexilic leaders Ne- 
hemiah and Ezra, and the authors of Jewish law have 
been studies in Hebrew piety. But the book of Job, with 
its poignant question of the place of evil in Jehovah's gov- 
ernment, raises in a striking manner the question whether 
piety, whether religion itself, is possible in our world. 
It is a question that is never old and that has been raised 
at numberless crises in human affairs. 

The author and the precise date of the book of Job are 
unknown. Previous chapters have shown a set of in- 
terests that preclude this philosophic drama from an 
earlier date than the fourth century before Christ. The 
introduction of the Priestly Code, with its assumption 
that Israel's failure to conduct a carefully guarded wor- 
ship — the nation's neglect of holiness — accounted for its 
great disasters, undoubtedly provoked the line of thought 
found in Job. The narrow exclusiveness of this new legal- 
ism was met by the liberal protest of Euth and Jonah. 
The book of Job also is a protest against this legalistic 
piety. Its author did not believe that a holy ritual could 
avert all evil. He did not understand the disastrous course 
of his people's life; he could find no explanation of evil 
in the orthodox opinions. But his faith in Jehovah, un- 
impaired by his philosophical confusion, held him stead- 
fastly in supreme loyalty to his God. It is this piety that 

197 



198 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

is the charm of Job and that makes the book a rich treas- 
ure for the study and meditation of every age. 

The Pkoblem of the Book of Job 

Pain and death ever have seemed to man needless and 
irrational elements in existence. They require explana- 
tion. The earliest answer of man to his own question of 
the function of suffering was that the gods, being all 
powerful, did what they pleased. Among the early Baby- 
lonians all human misfortunes were traced to the anger of 
the gods at some human deed. But in the great majority 
of cases, when misfortune befell men, they were ignorant 
of those deeds which had aroused the anger of the deities. 
The misfortune was the first intimation of the transgres- 
sion. 

"May the wrath of the heart of my god be pacified : 
May the god who is unknown to me be pacified. 
The misdeed which I have done I know not." 

This is a typical Babylonian prayer. There is no moral 
relation between misfortune and human conduct. In 
some unforeseen way the worshiper has aroused the ill 
will of some deity. He does not know even which one 
among the many is offended. 

A modified form of this conception of the cause of mis- 
fortune is found in the earlier Old-Testament literature. 
In the midst of a great victory over the Philistines (1 Sam- 
uel 14. 43) Saul imposes a food taboo; Jonathan and his 
armor-bearer unwittingly break it and stand for this un- 
witting transgression in peril of their life. It was felt in 
Saul's day that a violated taboo aroused the wrath of 
deity. Similarly Uzzah (2 Samuel 6. 6, 7) violated a 
taboo in touching the ark. In neither case was the pun- 
ishment involved related morally to life. It was simply 
due to a violation of divine prerogatives. 

Time passed, and this nonethical interpretation of mis- 
fortune gave place to a moral explanation. The authors 
of the Deuteronomic Code believed that the practice of 
the humanitarian and ritual provisions there enjoined 



JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 199 

would be followed by abundant rains, rich harvests, large 
flocks and herds, and numerous children. Prosperity is 
the reward of obedience, and calamity is the punishment 
for indifference and disobedience. In spite of the 
early death of the good king Josiah and the lifelong 
afflictions of Jeremiah the doctrine that righteous- 
ness secures prosperity and long life continued to be the 
orthodox doctrine of Israel through the Exile. Ezekiel 
(see chapter 18) makes this position clear. 

But with the restoration of the Jewish community in 
Palestine, the rebuilding of the Temple and the walls, 
the introduction of the law, and the increasing strictness 
of Jewish life it was still found that men righteous ac- 
cording to the accepted standards suffered grievous afflic- 
tions, and men who were openly wicked often prospered 
through a long life. The question pressed upon at least 
one reflective soul with undeniable persistence. Why do 
the righteous suffer? is the query of the book of Job. 

The Orthodox View of Suffering 

This was expressed, first of all, by Eliphaz. Eead Job 
4. 7-11. The theory that all affliction is the punishment 
of sin is stated flatly in verse 7: 

"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being inno- 
cent? 
Or where were the upright cut off?" 

What proof does Eliphaz offer for this theory that calami- 
ties beset the wicked only? Note first (verse 8) that he 
cites what he believes to be an observable fact. Then (4. 
12-21) he argues that man's position is so lowly before 
God that no man (verse 17) is really righteous according 
to the standard of deity. Even the angels are charged 
with folly. Before such exalted justice and purity every 
man stands condemned. Hence (5. 7) man should accept 
affliction as necessary and justifiable. Thus, Eliphaz ex- 
plains the causes of misfortune which do not fall obviously 
under the rule stated in 4. 7, 8 by the theory that the right- 



200 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

eons man is not absolutely righteous. But such afflictions 
of the righteous are intended to awaken a deeper trust 
and loyalty toward God. What does Eliphaz say he would 
do if he were in Job's place? (5. 8). Read the splendid 
lines (5. 17-27) in which Eliphaz assures Job that the 
fullest trust of God lifts a man above the main disasters 
of life and crowns him with a ripe and honored age. 

Bildad repeats this argument, but with more direct 
application to Job's case. Eead 8. 5, 6 for his brutal 
insistence that Job had sinned. Bildad supports his posi- 
tion by an appeal to the experience of the past. There is 
abundance of accumulated evidence, he thinks, that af- 
fliction besets the paths of those only who forget God. 
Zophar holds the same view as the two former speakers. 
He too exhorts Job: 

"If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away . . . 
Then . . . thou shalt forget thy misery . . . 

And thy life shall be clearer than the noonday ." 

The Theory of Discipline 

Both Eliphaz and Elihu recognize that the older view 
is too rigid to explain the whole of misfortune. Affliction 
is more than punishment: it is intended to warn and re- 
strain man from plunging on recklessly into irretrievable 
ruin. A man ought therefore to rejoice when suffering 
comes upon him. It is an expression of God's love and 
care. Thus, Eliphaz says (5. 17) : 

"Happy is the man whom God correcteth : 
Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Al- 
mighty." 

Eead also 22. 21-30 and observe that Eliphaz, in urging 
Job's repentance, maintains the opinion that the misfor- 
tunes befallen his friend are God's method of bringing Job 
into a better relation with himself. But observe too that he 
wavers not at all in his opinion that genuine righteous- 
ness is rewarded with honor and prosperity. Examine 33. 



JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 201 

19-28. Here Elihu asserts that pain is God's voice to 
restrain man from sinful ways which lead him to an 
early death. To such men in affliction he sends his holy 
angels to interpret to the sufferer the meaning of his chas- 
tisement. Then the afflicted one, recognizing his sin and 
acknowledging it, is restored again to health. Thus, pain 
is God's messenger in the discipline of the soul. 

The Theory That Suffering Is the Trial of Faith 

While the prose prologue does not enter intimately into 
the movement of the drama, it does present an explana- 
tion of the afflictions of the righteous. Eead Job 1. 1-5 for 
a picture of Job's piety. From 1. 6 and 2. 1 it appears, 
in the author's view, that Jehovah is a heavenly Monarch 
surrounded by a host of angelic ministers and that, like 
a Persian prince, he held certain court days on which the 
heavenly officials presented themselves before their King. 
Each of these officials has his own task in the vast admin- 
istration of the universe. Satan is a kind of inspector- 
general of our own planet. Job 1. 7 indicates the nature 
of his responsibilities. Observe the satisfaction Jehovah 
takes in Job (verse 8). But Satan avers that any man 
would be righteous were he to be favored with Job's pros- 
perity, and that no man's piety really can be known until 
it is tested by the direst adversity. Jehovah does not 
think that this is true — at least not true in Job's case — • 
and, to put the matter to the test, gives Satan permission 
to afflict Job except unto death. In 2. 10 the result is 
stated. This theory assumes that afflictions come upon 
the wicked to punish them, but those which befall the 
righteous are a fiery test to show the strength or the 
weakness of their character. That the author of the 
book considers this view unsatisfactory is seen in the fact 
that this solution does not enter into the thought of either 
Job or his counselors. 

The Agnostic Position 
This is stated first by Elihu. He says, in effect, that we 



202 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

cannot really understand God : the greatness and unsearch- 
ableness of his ways render futile any questioning of his 
government. God is far removed from man. One fine 
result from his remove from mankind is that he is thus 
freed from the necessity of injustice: there is no motive 
for it, nothing to be gained by it (34. 12, 13) ; neither 
the praise nor the blame of men can affect his policy (34. 
29; 35. 5-8); he has no need to play favorites (34. 17- 
20). Elihu does not admit that injustice is a part of the 
divine policy. He thinks that God's administration is 
just; but he does recognize seeming injustice and offers as 
its explanation that God's far remove from man makes 
human understanding of his ways impossible. What proof 
of this position does Elihu offer? See 36. 26-33; 37. 5-20. 
Rain, snow, lightning, winds, the expanse of sky, all evi- 
dence the far remove of God's life from human frailty. 
It is absurd to question or to murmur at his administra- 
tion. We have so little in common with him that we can- 
not converse with him (37. 19) ; so majestic is he that 
"we cannot find him out" (37. 23). 

Chapters 38 to 41 present the same position — that it is 
impossible to understand the method of divine Provi- 
dence. These final chapters should be read attentively. 
They present the cares and responsibilities of God's gov- 
ernment of the universe. Does this review of God's af- 
fairs belittle the problems of man? These speeches of 
Jehovah assume the correctness of Job's contention: that 
the affairs of men exhibit injustice, and life is filled with 
unexplainable suffering. But when the "why" is asked, 
the answer is that there is no answer : God's ways are past 
finding out. If a man is torn with a sense of injustice 
in the world, these final chapters say to him, "This res- 
tiveness, this sense of rebellion against God, is unjustifi- 
able until all the aspects of his government are known 
to us. Since in the nature of the case this full perspective 
is impossible, man cannot justly murmur or condemn. 
We may not have full knowledge of his ways, but we can 
trust him, and in this trust we find sanity, strength, and 
peace." 



JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 203 

The Soul of Job Undeb Discipline 

Job himself, until his calamities befell him, had ac- 
quiesced in the orthodox theory. Now he realized that 
it broke down utterly. He knows that he is innocent. No 
great sins have stained his life. Eead 16. 6-17 for Job's 
burning sense of the injustice done him on the theory that 
suffering is the punishment of sin. Then, too, Job's suf- 
fering has opened his eyes to the fact that the wicked are 
not invariably punished. Bildad had asserted (18. 5, 11, 
17, 18) : 

"The light of the wicked shall be put out, 



Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, 

His remembrance shall perish from the earth, 

He shall be driven from light into darkness 
And chased out of the world." 

Chapter 21. 7-21 should be read carefully and attentively. 
Observe there the answer Job made to the claim stated in 
the foregoing quotation. 

Job's faith falters under this new revelation of world 
conditions. There grows upon him the horrible feeling 
that the world is not fundamentally just and moral. He 
begins to feel that there is no longer an argument for 
righteousness. Elihu represents Job as saying despair- 
ingly and bitterly that righteousness does not get a man 
anything (34. 9; 35. 3). Chapter 24 should be carefully 
read. Here Job points out the ruthless tyranny of men 
of wealth and position versus (1-4, 9-12) the wretched 
life of the poor (5-8), the crimes of various evildoers 
(13-17), and asserts (18-25) that the fate of these men 
in no way differs from the end of others. There seems to 
be no moral government of the world. 

Yet Job cannot rest in this awful pessimism. While 
he is sure that the old theory breaks down completely and 
while he is not able to put forward any tenable view of 



204: THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

his own he cannot feel that his helplessness to fathom the 
problem is the end of the matter. Bead the magnificent out- 
burst of faith in 19. 23-27. The precise meaning here may 
be uncertain, but the general meaning is clear. The pres- 
ent, with its insoluble problems, is not the end of the 
matter: there will come a day of understanding. Jeho- 
vah will vindicate Job, but not only Job: he will justify 
his own ways in the sight of man. So Job, although 
he cannot know fully, can trust. Eead the two short 
replies of Job to the speeches of Jehovah (40. 4, 5 ; 42. 2- 
6). Observe that in the first half of verse 3 in chapter 
42 and in 42. 4 Job is quoting the charge against him. 
He acknowledges that the ways of God are beyond him 
and so far as the problem of evil is concerned acknowl- 
edges that there is no satisfactory explanation. But concern- 
ing man's practical relation to the seeming injustice of the 
world Job discovers that all-confiding trust in the power 
and wisdom and justice of God is sufficient for everyday 
life. 

The Conduct Inspired by Such Piety 

The book of Job is a protest against the ideal of right- 
eousness held by the priestly legislation. In the Priests* 
Code righteousness primarily is a right attitude toward 
a ritual of worship; the ideal of righteousness everywhere 
in the book of Job is Tightness of human relations. The 
right relation between men is here stated to consist in 
justice, in warm sympathy, in close bonds of considera- 
tion and affection, which hold society together in loving 
fellowship. Slavery and broad divisions between rich and 
poor are taken for granted; but piety demands that these 
social chasms shall be bridged with love and helpfulness 
on the part of the rich and strong. 

Note the following catalogue of wicked acts — wicked- 
ness here is nearly altogether a ruthless and unsocial deed 
— which the man who despises God commits. There are 
the sins denounced by the Ten Commandments: murder, 
theft, adultery (24. 15, 16) ; forms of theft are specified 
(24. 2, 3) ; adultery is defined (31. 7, 9-12) ; miserliness 



JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 205 

(31. 24, 25), rejoicing at the destruction of one's enemy 
(31. 29), abuse of power in dealing with slaves (31. 13), 
falsehood (31. 5), and deceitfulness (27. 4) are counted 
evil deeds. But for the most part wickedness is regarded 
as hard-heartedness toward the weak and helpless units 
of society — the orphan, the widow, the lonely childless 
woman, and the poor laborer. Observe carefully the 
wrongs that were done in Jewish society of this period 
toward the widow and orphan (22. 5-9; 24. 3, 9, 21; 31. 
16-18, 21) : the last ox of the widow, and a nursing child 
from its mother's breast were taken away to satisfy a ruth- 
less creditor. Note the sorrowful picture of the tragedies 
of the poor (24. 4-12, 14; 29. 13; 31. 38, 39; 34. 28) : hun- 
gry and thirsty in the midst of abundance, pitifully small 
wages, the continual victim of the greedy rich and cor- 
rupt judges, their last garment taken in pledge, so that 
they go about naked to work, and naked they shiver in 
sleep. The blind and lame, the sorrow-stricken, the hun- 
gry, and the stranger (22. 7; 29. 15; 31. 32) have no con- 
sideration shown them. It is this unhumaritarian greed 
of power and wealth, this terrible breach of human fellow- 
ship which riches so often create, these yawning social 
chasms in democracy, which mark the lack of piety in 
human hearts. Once only is wickedness an irregularity of 
worship: The man who turns aside from Jehovah to re- 
vere the solar and lunar divinities (31. 26-28) is given 
over to iniquity. But the interest here is almost wholly 
an affair of social ethics. What constitutes right- 
eousness? Social justice (29. 14). What is piety? It 
is that faith in God and reverence for his character and 
will which uphold man as a just and loving brother of his 
fellow men. 

Making Fbiends With Job 

What is the place of piety in religion? There is a vast 
emphasis in religious circles upon social ethics as the test 
of religious faith and devotion. There is a danger to 
religion in pressing social reforms. It is quite possible to 
forget the far-off issues in the tragic shadows of the 



206 THE BELIGION OP JUDAH 

present hour. But when the distant interests, the issues of 
that unseen to-morrow, are forgotten, the motive to correct 
the abuses of to-day fades in the soul. Now, piety is the 
root of religion; it is essentially faith in God. Unless 
religion is first of all a deathless devotion, a holy lifting 
of the soul unto God to know his will and to rejoice in 
his fellowship, social religion is shorn of its life. Piety 
is the beating heart of religious belief, of religious insti- 
tutions, of religious-social ideals. Do not, I beg of you, 
cease to keep your religion fervid with prayer and medita- 
tion. 

Thus, piety's contribution to life is measureless indeed. 
The world demands from us a ceaseless struggle. Crush- 
ing burdens are laid on many lives. Again and again 
have tortured men and women, having lost the heart to 
breast the pitiless storm of poverty, sickness, and besetting 
sin, ceased to struggle and sought the shadows of the grave. 
There is only one unfailing source of spiritual power. To 
possess the soul with the sense of mastery, so that it rises 
birdlike above life's ills, is the gift alone of undaunted 
trust in God. 

The faith of Job — what wonder is it that it is spoken 
of throughout the world ! What a faith it was ! To turn 
away from the legalistic piety of his day; to deny the or- 
thodox explanations; to venture into the untra versed 
realms of thought; to find, at last, in God no explanation 
but silence ; and then to trust, to believe that God, although 
he vouchsafed no justification of his ways to man, yet 
ruled justly: this is faith — wonderful, glorious, and re- 
deeming. 

Job's friends teach us the mockery of some of our friend- 
ships. Does our friendship for others mean this shallow, 
undiscerning, unsympathetic criticism offered as superior 
advice? No friendship is genuine unless it is an open 
gateway between human souls. Through this unbarred 
passage we enter each other's life and become comrades. 
It is impossible to misunderstand, to carp, to disparage, to 
condemn. To sit in judgment on one's friend is to draw 
the sword against oneself. Oh, for multiplied myriads of 



JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 207 

human friendships to radiate the world with trust, love, 
beautiful words, and gracious deeds! 

Again, we find that the prophetic type of religion reaches 
the heights. Legalistic piety gropes in darkness. The 
rosy dawn haloes the brow of Job. He is a prophet's soul. 
He speaks to God face to face; he needs no intermediary. 
With clean conscience he clutches the skirts of the Infi- 
nite One and asks for audience. Make way for him; he 
has an appointment with God. 

Questions foe Study 

1. When was the book of Job written? To what class of 
literature does it belong? What great question does it seek 
to answer? 

2. What is the Babylonian explanation of misfortune? 

3. What is the Hebrew conception of suffering in the period 
of the early monarchy? 

4. What explanation of calamity was offered by the Deutero- 
nomic reformers of the seventh century? 

5. What was Ezekiel's doctrine of suffering? How long was 
this doctrine held unchallenged? 

6. State, by a quotation from this book, the orthodox theory 
of suffering. What explanation is given by Eliphaz to the 
apparent exceptions to the orthodox theory? What modifica- 
tions of the traditional theory are made by Eliphaz and 
Elihu? 

7. State the theory offered in the prose prologue. 

8. What explanation seems to be the final opinion of the 
author of the book? Does this answer to the question of 
why the righteous suffer contribute to the development of 
piety? 

9. What is the Christian explanation of the presence of 
evil in the world? What is the Christian teaching on the 
problem of the book of Job? 

10. In what way does belief in Satan contribute to the 
solution of the problem? 

11. To what extent did belief in immortality with rewards 
and punishments contribute to the author's plea for trust 
in God? (See 3. 13-19 for ideas of life after death.) 

12. Since piety is faith in and reverence for God, what are 
the chief characteristics of God portrayed by this book? 

13. What is Job's conception of a wise man? (28. 28). 
Commit to memory this verse. 

14. Where does Job place the responsibility for his suffer- 
ings? 

15. What elements in Job's piety are of present-day value? 



208 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 



References fob Additional Study 

Article "Job," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 
The Religion of Israel, H. P. Smith, pages 266-75. 
Introduction to the Old Testament, McFadyen, pages 264-81. 
Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament, 
G. A. Smith, pages 283-300. 
The Theology of the Old Testament, Davidson, pages 466-95. 



CHAPTEE XX 
JEWISH LIFE IN THE PEESIAN PEEIOD 

That no nation lives unto itself alone is amply illus- 
trated in the history of the Jewish people. National feel- 
ing and action took their beginnings among the Hebrews 
while they were living in Egypt. On their entrance into 
Palestine they were influenced profoundly by the more 
developed civilization of the Canaanites. Phoenicia and 
Damascus lay close along the borders of the northern 
kingdom, and they continued to influence Hebrew political 
and religious life until they were supplanted by Assyria. 
The Babylonians took many Jews captive, and preceding 
chapters have shown how greatly the development of Jew- 
ish religion is indebted to these exiles. 

In 538 B. C. the Persians fell heir to the vast empire 
of the Babylonians and Assyrians, and Cyrus and his suc- 
cessors swayed the East until they in turn succumbed to a 
more virile civilization. For approximately two hundred 
years the Jews were struggling to achieve their destiny 
under the suzerainty of these Aryans. It will be recalled 
that Cyrus made possible a return of Babylonian exiles 
to Jerusalem, that Artaxerxes I nobly acquiesced in the 
desires of his cupbearer Nehemiah, and that Artaxerxes 
II gave Ezra his opportunity to stamp legalism upon the 
Jerusalem community. 

What further influence upon Jewish life resulted from 
the Persian control of Palestine? Were the Jews af- 
fected directly by Persian religious ideas? These are 
questions of much importance. This chapter is devoted to 
their answer. 

The Postponement of the Fulfillment of the Mes- 
sianic Hope 

From the time of Isaiah the hope of a golden age for 
Israel continued to be a constant feature in Jewish life. 

209 



210 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

This hope more and more came to be associated with vast 
political disturbances in the nations and in the confusion 
and overthrow of those which held in check the political 
aspirations of the Jews. Cyrus was hailed by a prophet 
of the Exile as Jehovah's servant, and in the overthrow of 
the ancient Semitic Babylonia by the Persians and the 
Medes many Jews undoubtedly believed that there were to 
be seen the beginnings of that universal political chaos 
out of which the glorious Jewish state was to arise. 

But the Persian succeeded in doing what neither of his 
Semitic predecessors in world empire had achieved. 
Darius came to the throne in 521 B. C. and during his 
reign he molded the heterogeneous elements of his ex- 
tensive empire into a compact and regularly organized 
body. The vast areas subject to him were divided into 
twenty to thirty provinces — the number varied from time 
to time — , and each was placed in charge of a governor, or 
satrap. This official was responsible for the collection of 
revenue, the administration of justice, and the maintenance 
of order. In each satrapy there were also a military com- 
mander and a secretary. These officials too were appointed 
by the king and were responsible directly to him. There 
were numerous military posts, garrisoned except in rare 
cases by Persian soldiers only, in all the provinces. The 
satrap was the "eye of the king." His task was to keep 
his sovereign informed concerning conditions in his prov- 
ince. The Persian sovereigns kept in close communication 
with even the most distant provinces by a chain of cou- 
riers maintained along the excellent post roads throughout 
the empire. 

Under such a system Jewish expectations of world-wide 
political disturbances were almost wholly crushed. "All 
the earth sitteth still, and is at rest," was Zechariah's (1. 
11) dejected statement. Consequently, the Persian dom- 
ination, so systematically organized and maintained, si- 
lenced for nearly two centuries the Jewish expectation that 
a prince of the house of David should sit upon the throne 
of a gloriously restored and expanded Jewish state. Any 
attempt at Jewish national independence, any refusal to 



JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PERIOD 211 

pay tribute, any training of armies, any plot to displace 
the Persian undergovernor at Jerusalem, any hint at re- 
bellion and a career of Jewish conquest, would have set 
in motion the mighty forces of the Persian Empire, and 
Judah would have been destroyed. No prophet could 
arise to predict an immediate interference on the part of 
Jehovah. The Persian was too securely established. The 
Messianic state had to wait for a more propitious age. 

New Devotion to the Temple 

With political Messianism crushed or held in abeyance 
during the Persian period pious Jews turned more ear- 
nestly to the Temple and its services. We have studied 
already Nehemiah's establishment of an elaborate Temple 
ritual and the extensive sacrificial system inaugurated by 
Ezra. But in addition to the new devotion to the idea 
of atonement through sacrifice the religious aspirations 
of Judaism also expressed themselves in a considerable 
amount of devotional literature. This literature of devo- 
tion, being set to music, was introduced into the services 
of the Temple. The result was to diminish the crass 
effect of the sacrifices and to rally about the Temple many 
for whom the sacrificial conception of atonement was in- 
sufficient or repellent. 

Temple Music. — Undoubtedly music formed a part of 
the acts of worship in Solomon's Temple. Since the chief 
services of religion among the Hebrews were festivals 
of feasting and general rejoicing, music formed a part 
of the acts of worship at all the sanctuaries. Songs and 
musical instruments appeared at these feasts (Isaiah 30. 
29). So prominent was this musical feature in worship 
that Amos (5. 23) uses it to symbolize the whole sacri- 
ficial system which he denounced: "Take thou away from 
me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody 
of thy viols." The Temple at Jerusalem undoubtedly 
continued this custom until the city was sacked by the 
Babylonians. After the Deuteronomic reform the serv- 
ices at Jerusalem naturally assumed greater importance 
and undoubtedly became more elaborate. Probably in the 



212 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

closing years of the southern kingdom is to be placed the 
beginning of the custom of using professionally trained 
musicians in the religious services. No certain descrip- 
tions of these arrangements for music have come down to 
us. We cannot be sure what songs they sang and we are 
only partially aware of what instruments were used. 

The matter becomes more clear after the Exile. At the 
time of Nehemiah's second visit to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 
13. 10) there was a numerous company of professional 
singers who, because of lack of financial support, 
had gone to farming. Nehemiah restored the payment of 
tithes and recalled the Temple musicians to their tasks. 
Evidently a considerable use of music in the services of 
the Temple was a well-established feature in his time. 
It is probable that at the completion of the second Temple 
musical elements on a more elaborate scale became a regu- 
lar feature of the Temple ritual. When Ezra arrived with 
the new law, and under his leadership the sacrificial ele- 
ments in the ritual were greatly expanded, music already 
was thoroughly established as a large and integral element 
in the services of the Temple. 

The Temple musicians associated themselves together in 
guilds. The earliest whose names have come down to us 
were the "children of Asaph" (Ezra 2. 41), "sons of Korah" 
(Psalm 42), and the "sons of Jeduthun" (1 Chronicles 
25. 1). The members of these guilds were both players of 
instruments and singers. They accompanied the daily 
burnt offering and all other of the more solemn services 
with singing. They were their own accompanists. The 
instruments commonly used were cymbals; the nebel, or 
psalter; and the kinnor, or harp. The latter two were 
stringed instruments. The tunes were taken from old 
popular songs sung at weddings, harvests, and vintages. 

Hymnbooks of the Temple. — During the Persian period 
the process of collecting, editing, and composing songs for 
the services of the Temple, if not begun at this period, 
was greatly stimulated by the need felt for a more spirit- 
ual religion than that involved in the sacrificial system. 
The strict legalists themselves felt the need of this music, 



JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PERIOD 213 

and the more spiritually minded found in the hymns an 
outlet for their longings. The first Jewish hymnbook was 
issued about the time of Nehemiah or Ezra. It was com- 
posed of Psalms 3-41, with the possible exception of 
Psalm 33. Psalms 51-72, with a few possible exceptions 
(for example, Psalm 60), were a second collection made 
during the continuation of the Persian rule. The Asaphite 
Psalms (50, 73-83) and the Korahite collection (43-49), 
although containing Psalms of the Persian period, were 
not assembled until after the Jews had passed through the 
deep waters of Greek persecution. 

These two hymnbooks of the Persian period contained 
Psalms written earlier than the time at which they found 
their way into the Psalter. But their collection and use 
indicate the religious spirit of the period and reflect in- 
directly the Persian subjugation of Jewish national life. 

While the dating of individual Psalms is exceedingly 
difficult, and while there is much difference of opinion 
concerning the dates of nearly all the Psalms, it does add 
to the interest of a Psalm to be able to attach it to some 
definite historical setting in Israel's life. Examine 
Psalms 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17, and 22. These poems express 
the distress of pious Jews at the hands of worldly and 
arrogant leaders in their own community. But in the 
midst of suffering unjustly afflicted their faith in Jehovah 
sustains them, and they believe that he will break the 
arm of the evildoer and the wicked. Read in connection 
with these Psalms Malachi 3. 13-18 and consider whether 
the prophet's description of the dark years in Judah im- 
mediately preceding the advent of Nehemiah is not a 
satisfactory historical setting of these Psalms. 

Read Psalms 8, 16, 29; 57. 5-11; and 19. 7-14. These 
Psalms also were produced in the Persian period and 
fairly reflect the devotional life, the type of piety, which 
obtained in the Judaean community shortly after the 
reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra. They seem to indicate 
that these reforms were more or less permanent and were 
acceptable to the majority. The dissatisfaction and the 
difference of view expressed in Ruth, Job, and Jonah, 



214 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

which also are voices of the Persian period, were not pro- 
nounced enough to shake the position of the Temple and 
its services in the affection of the people. 

The Last Yeaes of the Persian Period 

Artaxerxes III, through a series of murders, ascended 
the throne of Persia in 359 B. C. During the reign of 
his immediate predecessors Persian control of the empire's 
vast territories had relaxed, and opportunity was given 
for revolt. Egypt threw off the Persian yoke, and the 
Phoenicians followed the Egyptian example. It is prob- 
able that Judah, as of old, was enamoured by the possi- 
bility of independence and refused the Persian tribute. 
Phoenicia and Egypt were defeated and punished with 
the utmost cruelty. The citizens of Sidon to the number 
of forty thousand shut themselves in their houses and set 
fire to their city rather than trust themselves to the cruel 
tortures of the Persian monarch. In Egypt, Artaxerxes 
demolished the walls of cities, plundered the temples, and, 
leaving garrisons to hold the country in subjection, with- 
drew with immense booty. From Josephus it is evident 
that a Persian force under Bagoas, one of the generals of 
Artaxerxes, severely chastised Jerusalem for its part in 
the revolt. Many Jews were taken captive and sold into 
slavery. Others were transported to the province of Hyr- 
cania, to the south of the Caspian Sea. 

This tragic event in Jewish history has left its mark 
in the book of Joel. Verses 9-17 in chapter three exhibit 
the spirit in which Judah dared to throw aside the Per- 
sian yoke. The spirit of nationalism and Messianic hope 
were awakened once more by the changing political events. 
The power of Persia seemed broken by the Egyptian re- 
volt. It might well have seemed to the fervid religionists 
at Jerusalem that the long-waited day of Jehovah's de- 
liverance had come. Verses 4-8 are a fragment expressing 
the rude and cruel awakening from these dreams. The 
Persians came, and part of the punishment was the de- 
spoliation of the Temple. Phoenician merchants became 
the ready buyers of Jewish captives and such plunder as/ 



JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PEEIOD 215 

the Persians were ready to sell. Possibly some of the 
Psalms were born in this time of bitter humiliation. But 
none can be placed at this period with absolute certainty. 

Other Results From Contact With the Persians 

Persian officials, soldiers, couriers, and merchants were 
common in every part of the domains subject to the suc- 
cessors of Cyrus. The Jews living in various parts of 
the empire were brought into close contact with Persian 
life. In the Elephantine papyri there is a record of a 
suit at law between Mahseiah, a Jew, and Dargman, a 
Persian. Official documents prepared by Jews at Elephan- 
tine, an island in the Nile, and addressed to "Our Lord 
Arsham," the Persian satrap of Egypt, are still extant. 
There has been found also a petition by the Jews of the 
same city addressed to Bagohi, the Persian governor of 
Judah, who, in the absence of Arsham from Egypt, au- 
thorized the Jews at Elephantine to rebuild their Temple 
to Jehovah, which had been destroyed. 

There is every warrant for believing that the religious 
ideas of the Persians penetrated into all districts reached 
by their political and military authority. In those com- 
munities where Persian religious ideas were more ad- 
vanced than the native religions there is every reason to 
suppose that they were not without influence upon the 
subject peoples. 

During the period under discussion (538-322 B. C.) 
Persian religious conceptions in some particulars showed 
more reflection and, therefore, were more satisfactory than 
were the Jewish. This is true especially of their beliefs 
concerning life after death. The Jews at this time held 
the views on the subject which were common to all the 
Semitic East. Beneath the earth was an abode for all 
the dead. Into this vast cavern good and bad went indis- 
criminately. See Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 32. 18-32. There 
was no teaching of retribution after death and no release 
from this gloomy underworld. Job. 3. 13-19 and 14. 10- 
12 express tfre same notion. If the author of Job raises 



216 THE KELIGION" OF JUDAH 

the question of a happier immortality (14. 14), the idea 
is held as a faint hope. 

Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Persians, had clearly 
outlined beliefs concerning the invisible life. Individuals 
at death were judged, and their destiny was determined 
according to their thoughts, words, and actions in the 
present life. The good passed at once into the heavenly 
abode, and the bad were cast down into hell. At the end 
of the world was to come a final judgment. The bodies 
of the dead were to be raised and reunited with the spirits 
who once had tenanted them. The great and final judg- 
ment then took place. All evil was then to be destroyed, 
and the earth was to be renewed for the abode of the 
righteous. 

To what extent did this Persian eschatology influence 
Judaism? In Daniel 12. 13 two characteristic Persian 
ideas appear. By this passage there is taught a resurrec- 
tion of righteous and wicked and a final judgment follow- 
ing the resurrection. But this resurrection and judg- 
ment are limited. They do not apply to all mankind; 
they do not even include all Jews. It is possible that in 
the teaching of Daniel, Judaism began to be formally 
responsive to the Persian conception of the last things. 
In the second and first centuries before the Christian era 
a well-developed eschatology that almost completely par- 
alleled the Persian doctrine appeared in the Palestinian 
apocryphal literature. The conclusion is inevitable that 
Persian ideas of the last things met a sympathetic response 
in the harassed Judaean community, and that the more 
pious were stimulated by these foreign notions to develop 
their primitive eschatology into a likeness of Persian doc- 
trine and unite it with their Messianic hopes. 

Practically the same course, though in a lesser degree, 
was taken by the development of the ideas of Satan, angels, 
a heavenly court surrounding God, and the spiritual rulers 
acting as satraps of Jehovah in the government of non- 
Jewish peoples. The ideas of nations being ruled by 
heavenly princes as underlords of Jehovah (Daniel 9. 21, 
10. 13, 18-21) seem to have been modeled from the form. 



JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PERIOD 217 

of government of the Persian Empire. The same concep- 
tion appears in Psalm 82. These spiritual beings — demi- 
gods, they might be called — appear in other Psalms (for 
example, 86. 8; 95. 3; 138. 1), against whose high estate is 
manifested by contrast the greater glory of Jehovah. 

Summary 

Continued study of the past makes ever more clear that 
in those far-off days, as in the present time, no nation 
lived unto itself. After the Exile the community in Jeru- 
salem was guided by a succession of pious leaders, who did 
their utmost to break the contact of Jews with foreigners 
and to exclude from Judaism non-Jewish ideas. But 
when the day came that the appointment of the high 
priests was in the hands of Persian officials, 1 it is easy to 
understand that foreigners in Palestine, in the long run, 
directly and indirectly influenced the development of Jew- 
ish religion. 

The Persians made possible the rebuilding of the Tem- 
ple and the city; they permitted the return of influential 
Jews to the land of their fathers; their tolerance made 
possible a fairly prosperous Jewish community in Pales- 
tine. But their well-established control of Judah silenced 
its political Messianism and turned the attention of the 
Palestinian Jews to their Temple. This strict confinement 
of Jewish aspirations to religious ideas and activities 
formed the setting for the development of Jewish law, 
for new attention to the cultus, and for the new passion 
for psalmody. Persian political organization and religious 
beliefs more directly influenced the growth of Judasim 
and, in the ideas of judgment and resurrection, enriched 
Jewish religious life. 

Modern Inferences From Past Events 

Of what and by whom is the life of an individual or a 
nation made? From what source have sprung the ideas 
that make us what we are? Whence have come our be- 



■ Antiquities, Josephus, xi, 7, 1. 



218 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

liefs, the color of our emotions, and the decisions that are 
registered in deeds? How subtle and unfathomable are 
the ways in which an individual is influenced in every 
aspect of life ! A terrific thunderstorm frightened Luther 
into becoming a monk; the terror of a pursued runaway 
slave led John Brown to vow eternal enmity to slavery; 
the sight of a criminal guillotined in Paris shook to its 
foundations Tolstoy's belief in the greatness of modern 
civilization; Sarah Bernhardt was diverted from the con- 
vent to the stage by a careless remark made to her mother 
by a friend; Matthew was transformed from a publican 
into an apostle by the Master's "Come." It is so in every 
life. A picture, a book, a song, a careless or an earnest 
word, a birth, a death, an accident — and our lives are 
turned into new paths, and we become different beings. We 
are influenced by everybody and everything; and we, in 
turn, influence the whole world. No individual lives 
unto himself. Our separate lives are really composite 
parts of the lives of all. Life is an endless process of give 
and receive. The Persians are ever with us. 

How frequently the common and unclean are trans- 
formed into the beautiful and the pure ! When the singers 
of the Temple were seeking tunes for their poems they 
found them among the songs in common use. Vintage 
songs, love ditties, and songs of revelry were robbed of 
their melodies, and these popular tunes began to be heard 
in the courts of the Temple. Psalm 22, from which Jesus 
quoted when dying, was sung to the tune of a hunting 
song: "The Hind of the Morning." Psalm 56, one of the 
oldest in the Psalter, was set to the music of a love song : 
"The Silent Dove." Psalm 8, one of the noblest of Jewish 
hymns, was sung to a wine song's music. Even tunes 
can be converted. Men and women whose lives are set 
to sin can be reclaimed from the vulgar and vicious and 
changed into sacred chants unto God. 

The Psalms seem to have been written for all time. 
Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant, cultured and 
ignorant, Oriental and Occidental, find in them the ve- 
hicle of their praises and their prayers. The Psalms are 



JEWISH LIFE IN THE PEESIAN PERIOD 219 

the utterances of human souls crying out for divine aid 
and comfort. They are human voices — not Jewish; 
therefore, they are universal voices. Through the centu- 
ries they have been lifting themselves to God in the hearts 
of vast human multitudes. Martyrs, missionaries, mer- 
chants far from home, sailors at sea, soldiers in the thick 
of battle, kings on their throne, stout souls defying the 
tyranny of kings, mothers bending over their children, 
youths and maidens in their mating time, old men and 
saintly women facing the sunset, even our Lord at Cal- 
vary, have used the Psalms to unite themselves the closer 
with God. They are still our noblest expressions of wor- 
ship. They are sufficient for the sage. They are beautiful 
on the lips of a child. 

Tests op Lesson Masteby 

1. What nations influenced the Hebrews in different periods 
of their history? 

2. Discuss the political organization of the Persian Empire. 

3. What was the result of this political efficiency upon 
Jewish Messianism? 

4. What use of music in Hebrew religion had been made 
previous to the Exile? 

5. What led to a greater use of music in the services of the 
second Temple? 

6. Discuss the guilds, instruments of music, and Hebrew 
tunes. 

7. Describe the contents of the earliest Jewish hymnbooks. 

8. What events in the Persian Empire and in Jewish his- 
tory inspired the prophecies of the third chapter of Joel? 

9. How closely were the Jews brought into contact with 
the Persians? 

10. What were the views of the hereafter held by the Jew- 
ish contemporaries of Nehemiah? 

11. What were the Persian views at this time? 

12. To what extent was Judaism influenced by Persian re- 
ligious ideas? 

References for Further Study 

Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 350-66. 
Seven Great Monarchies, Rawlinson, Volume II, pages 466- 
74 and 526-32. 
History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 224-67. 
Old-Testament History, Wade, pages 508-11. 



CHAPTEE XXI 

THE JEWISH SAGE 

When Alexander set out from Macedonia with his 
armies for the conquest of Asia, a new epoch in the world's 
life began. The Greeks believed themselves to be the 
superiors of the Asiatics in the things that make civiliza- 
tion. It was natural for them to introduce into the lands 
of their conquest the familiar aspects of their life at 
home. By the year 332 B. C. the Greeks had wrested 
Syria and Palestine from the Persians. From this date 
until 63 B. C., at which time Jerusalem was captured by 
Pompey, and a Eoman garrison policed the city, Palestine 
was profoundly affected by Greek civilization. Even the 
appearance of the Kom&ns did not stop the process of Hel- 
lenization. Pompey gave many of the cities of Palestine 
their freedom and embellished them with new public 
buildings after the Greek manner. From the coming of 
the Greeks until a hundred years, at least, after the open- 
ing of the Christian era Greek civilization was the domi- 
nant influence in Palestine. 

Greek Influence in Palestine 

Since the Greeks had crossed into Asia not to ravage the 
country but to possess it, they caused to spring up a mul- 
titude of cities after the Greek pattern, into which were 
carried the ideals, the interests, and the manners of the 
homeland. No part of Asia was more Hellenized than 
Syria and northern Palestine. Throughout Galilee around 
the shores of Gennesaret and far across the Jordan arose 
numerous Greek walled cities, with colonnaded streets, 
stadiums, theaters, baths, hippodrome, and, sometimes, a 
naumachy. Mount Tabor, looking down upon the plain 
of Esdraelon; Sycthopolis, guarding the plain at its en- 
trance into the Jordan valley; at least Taricheae and Ga- 

220 



THE JEWISH SAGE 221 

dara by Galilee; Paneion at the sources of the Jordan; in 
eastern Palestine, Dion and Pella, the latter so thor- 
oughly Greek that it was destroyed by the Maccabean prince 
John Hyrcanus ; Gerasa, 1 Philadelphia on the site of Kab- 
both Amnion, Abila, Eaphona, and, no doubt, many an- 
other — such are some of the cities built by Alexander's 
successors to spread Greek culture throughout the world. 
All these cities were within three days' journey of Jerusa- 
lem, and some of them were in sight of the Mount of 
Olives. Into these Palestinian cities — there were many 
others along the Phoenician and Palestinian coast-^-poured 
the tides of a new and attractive life. Interests, ideals, 
and feelings new to the Jew were dominant in these bril- 
liant centers of life. They gave expression to that political 
activity, artistic feeling, and physical enjoyment so char- 
acteristic of the Greek and so foreign to the Jew. Fes- 
tivals in which athletic games, horse races, and dramatic 
entertainments held dominating place offered the youth 
of Jerusalem an entirely new conception of life and the goal 
of human endeavor. The plays of Sophocles and Eurip- 
ides, along with much inferior stuff, were enacted in 
these Palestinian theaters. 

It was impossible that the younger and wealthier Jews 
should not respond to this freedom and exhilaration of 
Greek life. Greek culture offered a wider arena of life. 
So all those Jews — they were an increasing number — who 
aspired for either social position or- higher mental endow- 
ments now turned to the Greek language, philosophy, and 
letters. Nor were they longer content to remain at home : 
the desire for pleasure, for commerce, for political ad- 
vancement, for military service, for residence in Greek 
cities, for fertile lands, all combined to draw multiplied 
thousands of Jews into the Greek centers of Egypt and 
Syria. The attractiveness of this Greek life is revealed in 
the proposal to rename Jerusalem "Antiochia" and in 
the rededication of the Samaritan temple on Mount 
Gerizim as the "Temple of Jupiter Hellenius." 



1 A Syrian Pilgrimage, Ascham, pages 89-94. 



222 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

The rigid Judaism, grown up under Nehemiah and 
Ezra, could not wholly resist this freer Hellenic life, and 
there appeared under Greek influence writings called Wis- 
dom Literature. The complex ceremonial and civil law 
that governed Judaism during the fourth century required 
not only the priest to conduct the ritual but also the scribe 
to teach the law. The near approach of Greek civilization 
attracted many scribes, not only to expound the Jewish 
Scriptures but also to observe and study universal moral 
and religious principles. Such scribes as were attracted 
by this universal moral truth are the sages. In Ecclesias- 
ticus 39. 1-10 are stated the aim and function of the sage : 

"He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, 
And will be occupied in prophecies; 
He will keep the discourse of the men of renown, 
And be conversant in the dark sayings of parables; 
He will serve among great men, 
And appear before him that ruleth; 
He will travel through the land of strange nations, 
For he hath tried good things and evil among men. 
He will apply his heart to resort early to the Lord that 

made him, 
And will make supplication before the Most High, 
And will open his mouth in prayer, 
And will make supplication for his sins. 
The Lord shall direct* his counsel and knowledge, 
And in his secrets shall he meditate. 
He shall show forth the instruction which he hath been 

taught, 
And shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord. 
Many shall commend his understanding, 
And so long as the world endureth, it shall not be blotted 

out. 
Nations shall declare his wisdom, 
And the congregation shall tell out his praise." 

Compare with this ideal of the sage's function in society 
the meaning and the need of wisdom given in Proverbs 



THE JEWISH SAGE 223 

1. 2-7. This prologue states the purpose of the collection 
of proverbs that make up the book. 

This wisdom literature includes the Old-Testament book 
of Proverbs; several Psalms, such as 73, 92, 103, 104, 
and 107; Ecclesiastes ; and the apocryphal books of Eccle- 
siasticus (or Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach) and Wisdom 
of Solomon. 

The Teaching of the Sage 

Concerning Human Conduct. — Eead Proverbs, chapter 2 ; 
4. 13-19. Note that it is man's supreme duty to seek 
wisdom as he would search for hidden treasures; and if 
he does so crave to understand life he will learn that 
man's highest virtue is obedience to the moral law. This 
theme is amplified and illustrated in succeeding chapters. 
Chapter 5 is a warning against sexual licentiousness. Chap- 
ter 6 points out the evils of idleness, lying, theft, adultery, 
and murder. Other parts of the book are warnings against 
dishonesty (10. 9), mischief -making (10. 10), hate (10. 
12), slander (10. 18), pride (11. 2), stinginess and avar- 
ice (11. 24-26), social pretense (13. 7), anger (14. 17), 
bribery (15. 27), use of wine (20. 1), quarrelsomeness 
(20. 3), fraud (20. 17), gossip (20. 19), filial impiety 
(20. 20), oppression of the poor (22. 22, 23; 10. 11), 
gluttony and drunkenness (23. 20, 21), perjury (25. 18), 
boastfulness (27. 1, 2), jealousy (27. 4), greed (27. 20). 
These vices are pointed out many times over, and their 
antithetic virtues are the evidence of wisdom. Similar 
vices and virtues are the themes of Ben-Sira (Jesus, Son 
of Sirach). This author of Ecclesiasticus anticipates 
James in saying: 

"Be as a father unto the fatherless, 
And instead of a husband unto their mother, 
So shalt thou be a son of the Most High." 

Likewise, in other forms of rich human sympathy man 
shows his wisdom: 

"Be not wanting to them that weep, 
And mourn with them that mourn." 



224 THE RELIGION OE JUDAH 

Then, too, prayer and almsgiving are the marks of wis- 
dom: 

"Be not faint-hearted in thy prayer, 
And neglect not to give alms." 

For the sage, sin has little or nothing to do with cere- 
monial law. The wise man is not he who follows with 
devotion the Jewish ritual of worship, but he who prac- 
tices the great moral virtues. Here, again, as in the great 
prophets, righteousness becomes a greater thing than the 
correct practice of a cult: it is the exaltation of truth, 
justice, integrity, sobriety, and humanity to supreme place 
in human conduct. The man who does these things will 
stand right with God. Ben-Sira sums up the advantage of 
the pursuit of moral truth in his fine saying : 
"Strive for the truth unto death, 
And the Lord God shall fight for thee." 

In this new emphasis upon wisdom virtue and knowl- 
edge become practically the same thing. The sinner is a 
fool; the observer of moral law is wise. The bad man is 
bad because he will not seek instruction. "Wisdom will 
not enter into a soul that deviseth evil," writes the author 
of Wisdom of Solomon. After cataloguing the sins of 
wicked men the same writer thus accounts for their evil 
purposes : 

"Thus reasoned they, and they were led astray; 
For their wickedness blinded them, 
And they knew not the mysteries of God." 

Compare with this the identification of wisdom and right- 
eousness in Proverbs 8. 8. So in this new turn of Jewish 
thought wisdom is regarded as the one thing needful. 
Let a man become wise, and all goes well. 

Concerning Wisdom as a Divine Attribute— The 
Priestly Code held up Jehovah's holiness, meaning by this 
his separateness from man, as the chief element in his 
nature. The prophets emphasized his justice, righteous- 
ness, and love. The sages put forward wisdom as the out- 
standing characteristic of deity. 



THE JEWISH SAGE 225 

(a) Read carefully Proverbs 8. 22-81. Observe that 
Wisdom here asserts her primeval origin before Jehovah 
set about the creation of the world (verses 22-26) and 
that she was present at the creation of the earth, rejoicing 
at Jehovah's work and being his continual delight (27- 
31). Wisdom is here represented as a personal being, the 
first-created companion of the Most High. It is a poet's 
way of asserting that wisdom is the supreme attribute of 
deity and affirming that God's providence is character- 
istically marked by wisdom. 

( o) Ben-Sira teaches, similarly, that wisdom is the glori- 
ous distinction of God's nature and providence: 

"I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, 
And covered the earth as a mist; 
I dwelt in high places, 
And my throne is in the pillar of the cloud. 
Alone I compassed the circuit of the heaven, 
And walked in the depth of the abyss. 
In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth, 
And in every people and nation I got a possession. 
He created me from the beginning before the world, 
And to the end I shall not fail" (Ecclesiasticus 24. 3-9). 

(c) In Wisdom of Solomon (7. 25, 26; 8. l) t the same 
assertion occurs that wisdom is the supreme meaning of 
God: 

"Wisdom is a breath of the power of God, 
And a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty; 
She is an effulgence from everlasting light, 
And an unspotted mirror of the working of God, 
And an image of his goodness. 
She reacheth out endlessly with strength unabated, 
And ordereth all things graciously." 

The author of this book goes further. Wisdom is not 
only the active principle of divine Providence in nature 
but it is the Spirit of God himself passing out into human 
life and uniting men unto himself: 



226 THE RELIGION OP JUDAH 

"Wisdom, from generation to generation passing into holy 
souls, 
Maketh men God's prophets and friends; 
For nothing doth God love save him that dwelleth with 
wisdom" (7. 27, 28). 

"She entered into the soul of a servant of the Lord, 
And withstood terrible kings in wonders and signs. 
She rendered unto holy men a reward of their toils; 
She guided them along a marvelous way, 
And became unto them a covering in the daytime, 
And a flame of stars through the night" (10. 16, 17). 

TTniversalism. — There is little stress upon Jewish laws, 
institutions, and hopes. There is no mention of Israel in 
Proverbs. According to Ben-Sira wisdom is manifested 
preeminently in Jewish law (24. 8-23), and the priestly 
dues are obligations upon the wise man. But the wise 
man is much more than a legalist. The great moral vir- 
tues, found in every nation, are the equivalent of Jewish 
ritual : 

"He that requiteth a good turn offereth fine flour; 
And he that giveth alms sacrificeth a thank offering" 
(35. 2). 

In Wisdom of Solomon this universalism is carried still 
further : 

"Thou hast mercy on all men, because thou hast power to 

do all things, 
And thou overlookest the sins of men to the end they 

may repent. 
For thou lovest all things that are, 
And abhorrest none of the things which thou didst make ; 
For never wouldest thou have formed anything if thou 

didst hate it. 
And how would anything have endured, except thou 

hadst willed it? 
Thou sparest all things, because they are thine, 
Sovereign Lord, thou lover of men" (11. 23-26). 



THE JEWISH SAGE 227 

(b) This universal religion is seen in the sage's concep- 
tion of sin and the means for its forgiveness. Recall what 
is said above concerning human conduct and compare the 
conception of sin here taught with the idea of sin expressed 
in Chapter XVIII. Here there is no ceremonial sin. All 
sin is the rejection of wisdom and the pursuit of the well- 
recognized immoral acts of life. The sage possesses a 
finer sense of the ground of the forgiveness of sins. Ob- 
serve in the foregoing quotation from Wisdom of Solo- 
mon that Jehovah needs no sacrifice to put him in a 
forgiving humor: his great power and love are sufficient 
motives to move him to receive mercifully his repentant 
children. This movement of the sage away from the 
sacrificial ritual of legalistic Judaism is a splendid vision 
of the true nature of God and of religion. 

A Deposit Slip for the Spiritual Savings Bank 

Better than gold is the knowledge of God. This is a 
fundamental truth for the wise man. Do you believe this ? 
Do you really believe that the kingdom of God is more 
worthy of your thought and enterprise than the pursuit 
of wealth and fame? Are the invisible interests of the 
soul of greater moment than the visible needs of the body ? 
If we are creatures who outlast time and who, by virtue of 
this spiritual immortality, cannot hope to find comfort 
and life in the world of things, do we not need far more 
deeply than we hitherto have understood the help of a 
Being who is lifted high above the pettiness and the mean- 
ness of our lives, above our ignorance and sin, whose will, 
in spite of our blindness and rebellion, dominates the 
world ? A retreat we must have in the realms of the spirit 
to save us from the littleness and misery into which the 
strife for things ever plunges us. God is man's primary 
need. 

In religion wisdom is a primary need. Men do not 
purposely seek wretchedness, misery, and sin; all men are 
pursuing happiness. It is the lack of lofty discipline and 
direction in the habit-forming years which distorts so woe- 
fully the conception of satisfaction held by the vast ma- 



228 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

jority of mankind. Could the young man who lifts the 
first glass of beer to his lips see himself mirrored as a 
penniless outcast, ragged, filthy, blear-eyed, cursed by 
society, he would shudder at the foaming drink as at 
leprosy or a mad dog. The girl who harbors the first im- 
pure thought never pictures herself a woman of the streets. 
The task of evangelizing the world is the task of teaching 
the world where the goals of happiness lie. Do you recall 
the moan of Guinevere? 

"Ah, my God, 

What might I not have made of thy fair world 
Had I but loved thy highest creature here? 
It was my duty to have loved the highest; 
It surely was my profit had I known, 
It would have been my pleasure had I seen, 
We needs must love the highest when we see it." 

Tennyson speaks true. There is a divine necessity within 
us to love the highest that we know. Make it your solemn 
duty to search for the highest, the purest, and the holiest, 
and count it your unescapable duty and divinely given 
opportunity to exhibit the highest that you know in the 
sight of your fellow men. 

Does God know? How often that question has flamed 
within us. We are tempted, burdened, assailed, defeated. 
Do we struggle alone? Is the sky without an ear? Are 
the heavens blind? We know that the universe is strong. 
Again and again we tremble before its power. Earthquake 
and storm, disease and death, make us well aware of a 
power outside ourselves shaping our destiny. Is this 
Being wise and good? How we have raised the question 
in the midst of a dreadful overwhelming of our hopes and 
plans ! There is one answer only which steadies us and 
gives strength and peace : God is wise. The universe has 
no blind alley for him. He never takes his hand from the 
wheel. He knows the course. He sees the far-off harbor. 
thou vast outbound soul, fearful of the night, shrinking 
from the storm, keep the wise God steersman of thy life, 
and thou shalt make the harbor safe at the silver dawning 
of the morning. 



THE JEWISH SAGE 229 

Questions foe Study 

1. What is meant by the Persian period in Hebrew history? 
the Greek period? 

2. What was the ambition of the Greek conquerors of Asia? 

3. Name some of the Greek cities of Palestine? What 
public buildings were essential to every Greek city? 

4. What particular feature of Greek life was expressed by 
the gymnasium? the theater? the stadium, hippodrome, and 
naumachy? (Consult the dictionary.) 

5. Was the appeal made by these aspects of Greek life 
necessarily evil? 

6. Did the Greek, in this emphasis upon physical enjoy- 
ment, art, and politics, have a real contribution to make to 
the Jew of the fourth and of the third century before Christ? 

7. What motives impelled the younger and wealthier Jews 
to respond to the appeals made by Greek civilization? 

8. What necessitated the rise of the Jewish sage? 

9. In the quotation from Ecclesiasticus 39. 1-10 point out the 
preparation of the sage. Observe that he becomes conversant 
with the products of past wisdom, he visits the great men 
and the courts of foreign lands, he is a student of the social 
conditions of his day, he seeks forgiveness of sins from God 
and that instruction which he alone can give. Note next 
his mission in the world and the honors that come to him. 

10. Examine also, in a similar way, the prologue to the 
book of Proverbs (1. 2-6), and point out the preparation and 
the mission of the wise man. What is said to be man's first 
step toward wisdom? 

11. What writings constitute this wisdom literature? What 
is an apocryphal book? 

12. Examine Proverbs 2. 1-4 and state the prerequisite to 
wisdom which the sage here insists upon? Note that wisdom, 
first of all, is a definite and earnest purpose to search for 
wisdom. What is promised in verse 5 to such an earnest in- 
quirer? Observe that here "the fear of Jehovah," "the knowl- 
edge of God," and wisdom are identified. The student will 
recall Hosea's demand that Israel should know Jehovah. To 
know Jehovah is to realize his ethical character and his moral 
demands from men. The sage, like the prophet, regards the 
conscience and reason of man, not a body of law or a cult, as 
the true place of God's revelation of his ethical character 
and the duties that his moral nature imposes upon man. "We 
have here, on the one hand, the recognition of the mind of 
man as a source of truth and, on the other hand, the as- 
sertion that the moral potency of the mind is the creation 
of God." 

13. In the light of the foregoing statement what do the 
words "Jehovah giveth wisdom" (verse 6) mean? 



230 THE BELIGION OF JTJDAH 

14. Of what benefit is this wisdom to man? See the re- 
mainder of the chapter. 

15. What is the meaning of sin to the Jewish sage? What 
is the relation of righteousness and wisdom? 

16. What does the Jewish sage add to the Hebrew concep- 
tion of deity? Estimate the importance of this contribution 
to theology. 

17. To what extent does the natural world give evidence 
of this wisdom? 

18. Is wisdom in Proverbs 8 and in the quotations from 
Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom of Solomon anything different from 
the wisdom spoken of in Proverbs 2? What new function of 
wisdom is described by the author of Wisdom of Solomon? 

19. Why does the sage not emphasize the beliefs, ideals, 
and institutions peculiar to the Jew? Why does he preach 
no Messianic kingdom and expect no Messiah? 

20. What elements in his teaching were making for the 
overthrow of Judaism? What aspects of his beliefs about 
God and man were preparing the way for the teaching of 
Jesus? 

Supplementary Readings 

The Religion of Israel, Smith, Chapter XVII. 
A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 271-322. 
Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 367-418. 
Jerusalem Under the High Priests, Bevan, pages 1-68. 



CHAPTEE XXII 

THE MACCABEAN CEISIS 

Jewish religious history is a series of crises. The Exo- 
dus, the rise of the monarchy, the division of the kingdom, 
the crushing of Tyrian Baalism, the threatened fall of 
Samaria, the birth of ethical prophecy, the sack of Jeru- 
salem, the rebirth of the Jewish state in the legalism of 
Nehemiah and Ezra, all evidence that the religion of 
Israel ever was subjected to excessive stress and strain. 
The Maccabean age is another period of trial and victory. 
This chapter sets forth the nature of this crisis and its 
contribution to Judaism. 

Maccabean Political History 

From 168 B. C, when the aged priest Mattathias began 
to revolt against the Syrian kings, until 63, when Pales- 
tine fell into the hands of Rome, constitutes the Maccabean 
period of Jewish history. The preceding chapter pointed 
out the aim of the Greek princes who got in control of 
Palestine through the victories of Alexander the Great. 
Believing in the vast superiority of the Hellenistic views 
and practices of life, they devoted themselves to the spread 
of this Greek civilization throughout all the provinces of 
the empire. Although Judah was the slowest of all the 
provinces of the Syrian kings (their capital was at An- 
tioch, the Antioch from which Paul set out on his mission- 
ary journeys) to respond to the allurements of Greek life, 
in the course of time there arose a party friendly to the 
Greeks. By 168 B. C. this party embraced a majority of 
the leading Jews. 

At this time Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king, de- 
termined to force an immediate Hellenization of Judaea. 
He proposed to abolish the Jewish worship and to es- 
tablish, instead, the Greek religious rites, There were 

.331 



232 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

not wanting prominent Jews who were willing to aban- 
don the characteristic features of their religion. Those 
who favored the proposals of Antiochus seized the govern- 
ment in Jerusalem. A gymnasium was erected near the 
Temple, and the young men of Jerusalem threw them- 
selves heartily into the new life of which this building was 
the expression. Even the priests were to be seen oftener in 
the gymnasium than in the Temple. Many of the athletes 
sought to remove the traces of their circumcision. Such 
was the progress toward the Hellenization of Judasa from 
174 to 168 B. C. 

Then Antiochus began to carry out his plans in earnest. 
He sent an arm!y to Jerusalem, threw down its walls, 
killed or sold into slavery very many of its inhabitants, 
brought in Greek colonists, and built a citadel to hold the 
people in subjection. Jerusalem was made a Greek city. 
Upon the site of the ancient place of Jewish sacrifice a 
Greek altar was set up, sacrifices were offered to Greek 
deities, and the Jews were compelled to participate in 
Greek religious festivals. Throughout Judaea the observ- 
ance of Jewish worship was forbidden on pain of death. 
Circumcision and the observance of the Sabbath were 
special points of Greek attack. Officers were sent into all 
the Jewish towns to see that sacrifices were offered to 
the Greek gods. 

When the royal officer came to Modin, a town forever 
memorable in the annals of religion, an aged priest, Mat- 
tathias, was urged to submit to the king's decree and offer 
the heathen sacrifice. He refused. When a renegade Jew 
stepped forward to take his place, Mattathias rushed for- 
ward and struck him down beside the pagan altar and slew 
also, in the next moment, the royal commissioner himself. 
Thus having lifted the standard of revolt, Mattathias, with 
his five sons and some others, fled into the mountains. 
When the news of this brave deed spread through the land, 
other like-minded Jews flocked to Mattathias; and these 
forces swept up and down the land, overturned the Greek 
altars, put to the sword many of those Jews who had re- 
nounced their religion, and enforced the observance of 



THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 233 

Jewish worship. It is impossible in this space to narrate 
the details of the struggle in which these noble leaders 
engaged with the Greeks to defend Judaism against the 
encroachments of Hellenism. Here only it may be said 
that Judas, who took up the work of his father and who 
was called Maccabeus (a word that probably means "the 
hammer"), is one of the great heroes of Jewish history; 
that Jerusalem was wrested from the Greeks and Jewish 
worship restored; that, finally, the citadel was captured; 
that the high priesthood was secured in the Maccabean 
family; and that, through the heroism and devotion of 
the Maccabees, Judaea finally won its independence from 
the Syrian kings, and, after six centuries of vassalage, the 
Jews once more became an independent state. The in- 
dependence of Judaea was recognized by the Syrian kings 
in 143 B. C. 

The Book of Daniel 

It was in the midst of this Greek persecution, 167-165, 
in the judgment of most scholars, when the book of Daniel 
was composed by an unknown Jewish writer. Its purpose 
was to encourage the faithful Israelites to remain steadfast 
in Jewish practices and beliefs and withstand unto death 
the Hellenizing attempts of Antiochus Epiphanes. 

First, the author assembles the examples of other Israel- 
ites who have endured great trials for their faith and 
their triumphs through their constancy; secondly, he as- 
sures his distressed countrymen that deliverance is near 
at hand. This deliverance, the author believes, will be a 
miraculous intervention on the part of God in the affairs of 
nations, that the Greek Empire will be annihilated, and 
that God will give his faithful servants in Judaea the sov- 
ereignty of the world. He believes, indeed, that the Mes- 
sianic age is immediately at hand. 

Eead chapter 1. The author, by his story of Daniel's 
refusal to eat meat, seeks to encourage his countrymen to 
abstain from meats prepared by the Greeks. To eat of 
food forbidden by Jewish law, especially in the days of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, was a striking evidence of apostasy. 



234 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

Such meats were almost sure to have been offered as sacri- 
fice before partaken of as food. Hence, the eating of such 
meats, as in Paul's day, was a species of alien and idola- 
trous worship. Chapter 1 is thus an exhortation to be 
true to the law. Greek civilization considered itself su- 
perior to the life of other nations. Those Jews who yielded 
to its allurements likewise so regarded the eminent value 
of Hellenic culture. Chapter 2 refutes this idea by ex- 
hibiting the superiority of Hebrew wisdom over the boasted 
Chaldean Magians. The four kingdoms are the Chaldean, 
Median, Persian, and Greek. All these shall pass. Note 
especially the words in which the rise of the Messianic king- 
dom is described (2. 34, 35, 44, 45). 

Chapter 3 is designed to encourage the Jews to cling 
steadfastly to their own religion. Its truth is worthy of 
loyalty unto death. Keeping in mind that, under the bit- 
ter Antiochean persecution, Jews were apostatizing on 
every hand, the passion of this author is the better under- 
stood, and his mission valued. Observe (3. 17, 18) the 
sublime faith and courage of the faithful Jews in the 
darkest months of the Maccabean crisis. 

Chapter 4 is to show the utter helplessness of heathen 
powers before the true God. As Nebuchadnezzar, because 
of pride and arrogance, was humbled from his high posi- 
tion, so Antiochus Epiphanes will be reduced to mean es- 
tate. The Jews who are loyal to Jehovah need fear no 
earthly prince. 

In chapter 5 the author, using current popular accounts 
of the fall of Babylon, encourages his countrymen in their 
crisis. Belshazzar lost his kingdom because he profaned the 
Temple vessels that were carried from Jerusalem to Baby- 
lon. How much more, then, is the implied argument, shall 
Antiochus Epiphanes lose his throne for his destruction 
of the Temple walls and his erection of a heathen altar 
upon the site of Jehovah's sanctuary! 

Chapter 6 inculcates that death is better than apostasy. 
It is the duty of the Jews to observe their religion under 
all circumstances. 

The four beasts of chapter 7 are again the four king- 



THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 235 

doms — Chaldean, Median, Persian, and Greek. Note es- 
pecially the description of the Greek Empire (7. 7, 19-21). 
The ten horns are various Greek kings — the successors of 
Alexander the Great. The little horn (7. 8) is Antiochus 
Epiphanes. Note especially the words about him : "a mouth 
speaking great things." Observe too the summary in 7. 
25 of the Hellenizing efforts of this same Greek king. Es- 
pecially attend to the predicted end of the Greek Empire. 
God himself, the "ancient of days" of verse 9, sits in 
judgment. What is the end of the Greek dominion? (7. 
11, 26). Examine carefully all that is said about the 
new kingdom that is to arise (7. 13, 14, 18, 22, 27). Note 
that the "ancient of days" gives the world sovereignty 
to "one like unto a son of man" (7. 13), and to "the 
saints of the Most High" (7. 18, 22, 27). These saints 
of the Most High are of course the faithful Jews. Hence, 
"one like unto a son of man" and "the saints of the Most 
High" are identified. There is here a Messianic people; 
not yet a Messiah. Observe the extent of this kingdom 
in space and time. 

Chapter 8 is a further description of the Greek king- 
dom. The "he-goat from! the west" (8. 5) is Alexander 
the Great. The four horns of 8. 9 are the four kingdoms 
into which Alexander's vast empire split after his death. 
The little horn (8. 9) again is Antiochus Epiphanes, whose 
violation of the sanctuary at Jerusalem is mentioned in 
8. 11. The author promises that this profanation of the 
sanctuary at Jerusalem shall last a little more than a 
thousand days. It is believed that Greek sacrifices were of- 
fered upon the Jewish Temple altar from December 15, 
168, to December 25, 165 B. C. 

Chapter 9 is another approach to the author's chief con- 
tention that the dawn of the Messianic age is at hand. 
Jeremiah (25. 11; 29. 10) indicated that the Babylonian 
Exile would last seventy years. The author of Daniel evi- 
dently supposed that Jeremiah meant that the Messianic 
era, at the end of the predicted period, would be ushered 
in. Therefore, he interprets these seventy years as seventy 
weeks of years, since the kingdom of their hopes has not 



236 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

yet been realized. See 9. 24-27. Verse 27 states that 
Antiochus Epiphanes shall afflict the Jews for seven years, 
and that for half this period Jewish worship at Jerusalem 
shall be cut off. Since the author writes during this period 
of interrupted worship, it is clear that he looked for God's 
intervention within the space of three or four years. 

Chapters 10. 1 to 11. 39 are a survey of the Judaean 
world from the beginning of the Persian period to the 
first years of the Maccabean revolt. Chapter 11. 40-45 
predicts the end of Antiochus and, with him, of the Greek 
kingdom;. The author feels that this is the end of the 
present world order. At this time will come a world judg- 
ment (see above). Observe that it is "a time of trouble" 
(12. 1) ; that the judgment is preceded by a resurrection 
of those preeminent in good and evil from "the dust of the 
earth" for their appropriate rewards (12. 2, 3). Those 
who have distinguished themselves in neither way remain 
in Sheol. 

Maccabean Psalms 

There was no period of Israel's history more fitted than 
the Maccabean age to rouse the people into religious song. 
In no previous calamity of the nation had the people suf- 
fered a religious persecution from their conquerors. Jew- 
ish worship during the Exile was not circumscribed by 
Babylonian interference ; but now the ancestral beliefs and 
practices, the divinely appointed worship, believed since 
the days of Nehemiah and Ezra to be the only means of 
preserving the Jewish nation in covenant relation with 
Jehovah, are assailed by Antiochus Epiphanes with all the 
influence and resources of the Syrian-Greek Empire. 
Added to these crushing foreign antagonisms, within the 
little nation itself there was a growing number of Jews 
who were advocating the laxity and even the abrogation 
of many of the requirements of the law. It was a time 
to try the faith of earnest souls and to wring a cry of 
protest against these destructive tendencies and an im- 
passioned appeal to Jehovah not to forsake his afflicted 
people. There is an increasing tendency to include a 



THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 237 

greater number of Psalms in this Maccabean period. With 
very few exceptions Psalms 44, 74, 79, 83 are universally 
assigned to this terrible period of stress and trial. Psalms 
33, 60, 88, 119, 125, 129, 144, 149 are other compositions 
considered by many to have arisen from this same age. 

Eead Psalm 74 in the light of the desecration of the 
sanctuary at Jerusalem by Antiochus and the subsequent 
uprising. This Psalm was likely composed between 168 
and 165 B. C. Note in verse 1 the feeling that their 
terrible disasters are due to God's own discipline. The 
psalmist reminds God of the insolent desecrations of the 
Greek and points out that these Hellenizers are his adver- 
saries. In verses 4-8 are given details of the Greek viola- 
tion of the Temple. A wail of despair characterizes verses 
9-11. In verses 12-17 the author encourages himself with 
reflections upon the might and majesty of God. The 
Psalm ends in a plea that Jehovah will rescue his own from 
their afflictions. Notice the appeal to the covenant (verse 
20) and the characterization of the faithful and oppressed 
Jews as God's "turtle-dove/' "thy poor," "the oppressed," 
and "the poor and needy." 

Eead Psalm 79. Here too (in verses 1-4) is a little 
picture of the desecration of the sanctuary ordered by 
Antiochus. Note the details: the entrance of the heathen 
within the Temple inclosure, the overthrow of the city, 
the great slaughter of the inhabitants, the unburied corpses, 
and the scoffing and mocking of the conquerors. In 1 Mac- 
cabees 1. 20-40 and 2 Maccabees 8. 2-4 witness is borne 
to the faithfulness of the picture drawn by this psalmist. 
Again these afflictions are viewed as penalty (Psalms 79. 
5-9 ) . There is also a plea for Jehovah's help to withstand 
and overcome their adversaries. 

Psalm 119 also is Maccabean. It was written in the 
midst of great trouble, afflictions, and persecutions. See 
verses 28, 50, 61, 161, and many others for expressions of 
the deep distress of those who remained faithful to Judaism 
under the Hellenic persecutions. The author is indignant 
at the Hellenized Jews who have apostatized (verse 53). 
Persecution has drawn him nearer to the law and taught 



238 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

him its value (61, 71, 75, 92). He is conscious of no 
wrongdoing to merit these afflictions (121) : his troubles 
are persecutions. The law had become his delight. "Oh 
how love I thy law!" is a recurrent mood (97, 113, and 
many other verses). 

Summary 

Although only a part of the Maccabean history is here 
presented, and only a part of the religious literature has been 
examined, enough has been brought forward to evidence the 
importance of these stirring times for the development of 
religion. Greek civilization may not have had much to 
offer to Judaism, but we have seen in the preceding chapter 
that it did stimulate Jewish thinkers into new conceptions 
which enriched the religious life of mankind. Here too, 
by way of reaction, came new faith and devotion to God. 
Also, there was more clearly outlined the Messianic hope. 
From this time on it does not dim again. Through 
the courage and devotion of the Maccabees the law intro- 
duced by Ezra was more firmly fixed in Jewish life. Re- 
ligion came to be identified with observance of law. Since 
this law was largely ceremonial regulations of life — an af- 
fair of festivals, sacrifices, tributes to priests — , it is neces- 
sarily regretted that such heroism contributed to the crowd- 
ing out of Israel the moral visions and obligations of 
prophetic teaching. Yet nothing less than this rigid legal- 
ism could have survived the attacks of the Hellenizers. 
Without this heroic loyalty, which risked everything dear 
to man and which preserved and accentuated legalistic 
piety, nothing of Israel's glorious idealism would have 
survived the bitter persecution of the Greek kings. Ju- 
daism, with its profound regard for its institutions, its 
heroic sacrifices for them, its very life centered in them, 
prepared the way for the high demands of Jesus that God's 
kingdom must be first of all in the interests of man. 

In Fellowship With Judas Maccabeus 

Judas Maccabeus is one of the world's heroes. It is 
well for us to know such men. "We cannot look, however 



THE MACCABEAN CEISIS 239 

imperfectly, upon a great man without gaining something 
from him." So Carlyle would have us give a kind of 
worship to heroes. We ought to have our heroes. A man 
without them is poor indeed. Unless there are brave and 
lofty-visioned men and women unto whom you look with 
admiration and a quickening of the soul you live an im- 
poverished life. Judas Maccabeus is worthy of your re- 
gard. Eeligion was the supreme fact for him. It was 
more than a quiet home, prosperous fields, fair words from 
his neighbors : it was wine to his soul, and under its exal- 
tation he forgot things; he lived in the realms of the spirit. 
He threw himself at wretched odds against the material- 
ism of his day and won gloriously. Get acquainted with 
Judas Maccabeus. 

The Maccabees have taught us that religious truth is 
worth dying for. Men are ever ready to perish for the 
visible. Few of us volunteer to put all in jeopardy for 
the ideal; yet it is in this way alone that we enter into 
life. He that loses his life is the only person who ever 
finds it. 

It is curious that so much of the world's finest work is 
done anonymously. We do not know the author of Daniel 
nor of these Maccabean psalms. Yet this is always the 
spirit of great work. The doer of an ideal deed is not con- 
cerned with himself : he cares only for the immortality of 
his deed. Great souls never labor for the perpetuity of 
themselves. They are careless of fame. So deeply con- 
cerned are they that their work shall go on blessing the 
world that they never plan for the permanency of them- 
selves. A man's true fame lies in his deeds. 

The author of Daniel believes that earth's events are 
the shadows of heavenly realities. The clash of earthly 
kingdoms is the reflex of the conflicts of patron angels 
of these nations. This is a crude picturing of a great 
truth. The meaning of our human struggles is not ex- 
hausted in the play before our eyes. Earth's affairs are 
bound intimately with the processes of the invisible and 
spiritual world. I like to believe that every aspect of my 
life must be run back to God for its final meaning. This 



240 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

is a God-controlled world; it is not a frightful maze of 
warring finite wills. Through the pain and crash, the bit- 
terness and the struggle, of our lives, Almighty God is 
working out for us a glorious discipline of soul. We can 
trust him. This world is no blind alley for him ; it is an 
open thoroughfare to his own clearly perceived goal. 

Let us, then, learn to trust him. Let us, too, be brave. 
Let us never swerve from the great religious convictions. 
Let us learn to die for the truths of God. Let us make the 
kingdom real and glorious by crowning it with our loy- 
alty and devotion unto death. Let us not permit ourselves 
to be swerved from duty, from the church, from Jesus 
Christ, neither by the sneers nor by the blows of a shal- 
low, worldly, egotistic culture. Let us stand by the 
Christ even if we stand in the gloom and the pain of his 
cross. By and by we shall stand with him in paradise. 

Questions fob Study 

1. What is meant by the Maccabean age? 

2. What results were secured in Jerusalem by the Greek 
princes in their efforts to Hellenize the provinces of their 
empire? 

3. What new Hellenizing policy was adopted by Antiochus 
Epiphanes? What was done at Jerusalem toward the carry- 
ing out of this policy? What was the king's plan for the 
country towns? 

4. Where did this policy first meet resistance? In what 
manner? 

5. Who were the leaders of this revolt against the Greek 
king? What was the nature of their successes? 

6. What was the condition of Judsea in 143 B. C? 

7. What canonical book was probably written in this period? 
What was the purpose of its author? 

8. What reasons did he offer his persecuted countrymen 
for withstanding Antiochus Epiphanes? 

9. What did he intend to teach by his account of Daniel's 
refusal to eat the food provided by Nebuchadnezzar? 

10. What was this author's reply to the boast of the Hel- 
lenizers that Greek culture was superior to Jewish ideas and 
beliefs? 

11. How did he illustrate his belief that Jewish institutions 
were worthy of sacrifice unto death? 

12. How did he argue that Antiochus Epiphanes was not to 
be feared? 



THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 241 

13. What end did this author predict for the Greek king- 
dom? What future did he believe belonged to the Jew? In 
what manner was the Jews' deliverance to be achieved? When 
did he expect this glad relief? 

14. What are this author's beliefs about angels? concerning 
life beyond the grave? 

15. Why was the Maccabean age likely to produce devo- 
tional poetry? 

16. What Psalms are thought to have been written in the 
Maccabean age? How many of these Psalms have you read 
in connection with this lesson? 

17. What impression do they make upon you with regard 
to their faith and trust in God? 

18. Do you consider that great affliction and great faith are 
likely to go hand in hand? 

19. In what ways do you consider that the Maccabean 
struggle for religious and political liberty contributed to the 
progress of the kingdom of God? 

Works of Reference 

1 Maccabees. 

A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 323-40. 

Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 419-68. 

Daniel, Driver, in "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and 
Colleges." See the Introduction, pages ix-cvi, and also the 
commentary for difficult passages in the text. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

JEWISH EELIGIOUS PARTIES 

In the New Testament Judaism presents itself in at 
least two well-defined sects, or parties, whose existence 
deeply molded and colored early Christian history. Yet 
these parties, Pharisees and Sadducees, were not a new 
rift in Judaism in the days of Jesus. They have an inter- 
esting history and a paramount influence in the political 
and religious life of Judaism for two centuries preceding 
the advent of Christ. This chapter discusses the origin 
of these parties, presents their leading religious beliefs, 
and estimates their contribution to the development of the 
kingdom of God. 

The Sadducees 

The student will recall that from the earliest appear- 
ance of Hebrew law the priests were its custodians and 
interpreters. Three separate codifications arose in the 
course of Hebrew and Jewish history : the Covenant Code, 
the Deuteronomic Code, and the Priests' Code. Each of 
these seemed sufficient in its day. But the formulation 
of a new code witnesses to the insufficiency of earlier legis- 
lation to meet the changing conditions of society. With 
the introduction of the Priests' Code, under the guidance 
of Ezra, this process of formulating new written codes 
ceased. However, this last code, so given over to cere- 
monial law, could not keep pace with the developing needs 
of the Jewish state. At least as early as 300 B. C. this 
situation was clearly felt, on the one hand, by the scribes 
— priests who gave themselves more to teaching and ex- 
plaining the law than to conducting the ritual of wor- 
ship — , and on the other by the leading priests, who, by 
virtue of their religious headship of the Jewish com- 
munity, were forced more and more into political position 

242 



JEWISH EELIGIOUS PARTIES 243 

by the necessity of the Jews to treat with the Greek king- 
doms of Egypt and Syria. In the two previous chapters 
we have seen something of the appeal of this Greek civil- 
ization to the Jewish mind. Now, it was the Jewish aris- 
tocracy — the rich, priestly families who had come into the 
political as well as the religious headship of the postexilic 
community — who responded to the allurement of Greek 
life. The insufficiency of Jewish ceremonial law to satisfy 
life's fullest needs the more aristocratic members of the 
Jewish community sought to meet by a set of worldly, 
political, and universal interests. They took a deeper in- 
terest in the world immediately at hand. This is the char- 
acteristic feature of the Sadducean party. 

Undoubtedly the Maccabean uprising crushed out the 
extreme Hellenists among the Jews. But when the Jewish 
state won its political independence under the Maccabees, 
and on under the Eomans, there was an influential number 
of wealthy families, chiefly among the priests, who, though 
they subscribed to the law, held fast to their worldly and 
universalizing views. They subscribed willingly enough 
to the law laid down in the Pentateuch, but they had little 
patience with the new views, which were becoming more 
and more authoritative among the Pharisaic scribes. It was 
this class, the aristocrats, who, upheld by wealth and posi- 
tion, were inclined to find this world a good place to live 
in and who, feeling the narrowness of Judaistic legalism, 
supplemented it by seeking something of the liberalism 
of the Grasco-Roman civilization (which surged even into 
Jerusalem), which came to be known as Sadducees. 

Examine carefully the following concerning the Sad- 
ducees, taken from Josephus: 

"The Pharisees have delivered to the people a great 
many observances which are not written in the law of 
Moses. For this reason the Sadducees reject them and 
say, 'We esteem those observances to be obligatory which 
are in the written word, but are not to observe 
what are derived from the tradition of our fore- 
fathers/ Concerning these things great disputes and dif- 
ferences have arisen among them. The Sadducees are 



244: THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

able to persuade none but the rich, but the Pharisees have 
the multitude on their side" (Ant., xiii, 10, 6). 

"The doctrine of the Sadducees is this: that souls die 
with the bodies ; nor do they regard anything besides what 
the law enjoins them. But this doctrine, is received but 
by a few, yet by those of the greatest dignity " (Ant., 
xviii, 1, 1>). 

"Ananias was of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very 
rigid in judging offenders" (Ant., xx, 9, 1). 

"The Sadducees suppose that God is not concerned in 
our doing or not doing what is evil and they say to act 
what is good or what is evil is man's own choice. They 
also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the 
soul and the punishments and rewards in Hades" (Wars 
of the Jews, it, 8, IJf). 

There is to be found in the Book of Enoch a section 
written by a Pharisee which gives something of the Phar- 
isaic opinion of the Sadducees at about 90 B. C. Note 
attentively the following lines: 

"Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches, 
Ye have committed blasphemy and unrighteousness. 
Woe to you who requite your neighbor with evil, 
Woe to you, lying witnesses 
And to those who weigh out injustice ; 
Woe to you, sinners, for ye persecute the righteous. 
For ye shall be delivered up and persecuted because of 
injustice. 

"And heavy shall its yoke be upon you. 
Woe to you, ye sinners, for your riches make you appear 

like the righteous. 
Woe to you who devour the finest of the wheat, 
And drink wine in large bowls, 
And tread under foot the lowly in your might. 
Woe to you who drink water from every fountain, 
For suddenly shall ye be consumed and wither away, 
Because ye have have forsaken the fountain of life." 

From these quotations it will be seen (1) that the Sad- 



JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 245 

ducees were a party of aristocrats, men of wealth and 
position, mostly priests given over to the sensual living 
and the oppression of the poor which ever characterized 
the upper classes in Israel; (2) that they considered only 
the written law binding — that is, the Pentateuch as we 
now have it; (3) that they clung to older religious views 
with regard to the resurrection and angels, denying both; 
and (4) that they parted with the older view that every 
act of man, good and bad, was divinely directed, and em- 
phasized the freedom of the human will. 

The Pharisees 

In another way did many Jews supplement the Ezra 
legislation. The continued failure of the postexilic Jews 
to set up a Messianic kingdom at Jerusalem led to a the- 
ological development in two directions. It seemed to those 
scribes who reflected upon these successive disappoint- 
ments that Jehovah had withdrawn from immediate su- 
pervision of the world and given over earth's sovereignty 
to angels: to superhuman beings intermediate between 
God and men. Then, too, the sufferings of those who were 
loyal to the new order of life which followed after Ezra 
seemed so terribly to arraign the divine government of the 
world. Job's problem was greatly accentuated in the 
earliest Maccabean period. Hence, there appeared, as a 
logical necessity, the belief in a new society in which the 
persecuted righteous of the present world order would be 
rewarded for their faithfulness. Since death comes to 
many who ought to share this happier day, they must be 
resurrected from the gloomy Sheol and restored again to 
the light and joy of day. 

The foregoing tendencies came to a climax in the bitter 
persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes. We have seen 
that Hellenism made deep inroads into the priestly aris- 
tocracy of Jerusalem. In other circles, especially among 
the poor in the city and in the country villages, in reaction 
against the Hellenized Jews there were aroused a more 
ardent piety and a loyalty to Jewish beliefs and practices. 



246 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

These were known as Chasidim, "the godly ones." 
Enough prominent Jews cast in their lot among them to 
give them the organization of a party. When the Macca- 
bees raised the standard of revolt, the Chasidim rallied 
around them. In the first stage of the conflict with the 
forces of Antiochus their intense devotion to the law was 
exhibited in their refusal to fight or to defend themselves 
on the Sabbath. The troops of Antiochus having assailed 
a company of a thousand men, women, and children on 
this sacred day, these pious Jews, rather than break the 
law, raised no hand against the Syrian forces but stood 
with silent resignation until the last one was cut down. 
When the Maccabees secured religious liberty, these Chasi- 
dim were satisfied and for a time were alienated from these 
champions of political liberty. For a brief period under 
John Hyrcanus, who was regarded as a prophet and who 
held the office of high priest and was called a king, the 
Chasidim, or Pharisees, gave their support to the Macca- 
bean party. Again there followed a period of distrust and 
alienation until Alexandra occupied the throne. She made 
peace with the Pharisees. From this time on affairs were 
largely in their hands. 

There is a considerable body of literature coming from 
the Chasidim, or Pharisees, which makes clear their be- 
liefs : 

Psalms. — There are many Psalms in our present Psalter 
which were written in the Greek and Maccabean periods 
and which express the beliefs, the fears, the hopes, and 
the piety of the Chasidim. Among these Psalms are 44, 
60, 74, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 86, 88, 94, 109, 129, 143, and 
144. These Psalms should be read in the light of this his- 
torical period. Examine especially Psalms 82 and 94. In 
82. 1, 2, 6, 7 is seen a characteristic Chasidic and Phar- 
isaic belief. The prologue of the book of Job and the 
prophecies of Zechariah have familiarized us with the con- 
ception of a heavenly court. Various writings of the 
Greek and Maccabean period enlarge upon this angelology. 
Daniel 10. 13, 20; 11. 1 assumes a belief in a patron angel 
for each nation. The prince of Persia is the patron or 



JEWISH KELIGIOUS PAETIES 247 

guardian angel of Persia. Michael is the guardian angel 
of the Jews. The gods of Psalms 82. 1 are these guardian 
angels. In 82. 6, 7 it is asserted that these patron angels 
shall perish. The author of this Psalm, like the author 
of Daniel, believes that the destinies of nations are bound 
up with their patron angels. So when the psalmist pre- 
dicts the destruction of the angels of the nations that have 
oppressed the Jew he is affirming in the most emphatic 
manner the overthrow of the nations themselves. Psalms 
82. 3, 4 is a little cry for help which reflects the sorrows 
of the early Pharisees. 

Eead also Psalm 94 for an insight into the sorrows of 
the Chasidim, or early Pharisees. Observe verse 7 for a 
characteristic Sadducean belief. In what way does this 
Chasidic poet answer the teaching that Jehovah is far 
removed from the knowledge of man's ways ? See 94. 12- 
23 for the strong faith of these persecuted Jews in the 
midst of dire calamities. 

The Book of Enoch. — The Book of Enoch is a collection 
of Chasidic and Pharisaic writings dating from 190 to 
64 B. C. There are several characteristic ideas: 

(a) The origin of evil is due not to man's transgression 
but to the lust of angels. "And it came to pass when the 
children of men had multiplied that in those days were 
born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the 
angels, the children of heaven, saw and lusted after them, 
and said to one another : Come, let us choose us wives from 
among the children of men." There were about two hun- 
dred angels who took human wives. The offspring of 
these unions were giants. The immediate result of these 
marriages was a flood of godlessness. The giants them- 
selves perished fighting each other. After their death 
their angelic fathers were imprisoned to await the day of 
judgment. At the death of the giants their souls became 
the demons who go about the earth to cause every form 
of evil. To them are due the vast pains and sorrows of 
mankind. 

(o) Angelology. — The Book of Enoch revels in angels. 
"1 saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times 



248 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

ten thousands, I saw a multitude beyond number and reck- 
oning, who stood before the Lord of spirits/' The cher- 
ubim and serapim of the older literature are now con- 
sidered angels. There are seven archangels: Uriel is the 
overseer of the natural world, Eaphael is in charge of the 
departed spirits of mankind, Eaguel is prince of the stars, 
Michael is the angelic patron of the Jews, Saraqael rules 
the spirits of mankind who continue to sin, Eemiel is in 
charge of the resurrection, and Gabriel is over paradise. 
Then there are angels over the sea, hail, hoarfrost, mist, 
and rain. In addition to Michael seventy angels are the 
shepherds of Israel. The Pharisees had no thoroughly 
worked-out system of angelic rule. The foregoing is only 
typical of the vast functioning of the angels in the universe 
according to Pharisaic thought. 

(c) Retribution, judgment, and resurrection. — There 
were pronounced Pharisaic views concerning these, but 
they will be dealt with in the next chapter. 

(d) These writers in the Book of Enoch had clear moral 
vision. Compare the following with many of the Psalms : 

"And now I say unto you, my sons, love righteousness and 
walk therein ; 

For the paths of righteousness are worthy of accepta- 
tion, 

But the paths of unrighteousness shall suddenly be de- 
troyed and vanish. 

Seek and choose for yourselves righteousness and an elect 
life, 

And walk in the paths of peace, 

And ye shall live and prosper." 

The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. — This book 
was written by a Pharisee between 109 and 106 B. C. At 
this time John Hyrcanus was at the front in Judaean 
affairs. "The Maccabean dynasty had now reached the 
zenith of its prosperity, and in its reigning representa- 
tive, who alone in the history of Judaism possessed 
the triple offices of prophet, priest, and king, the Phar- 



JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 249 

isaic party had come to recognize the actual Messiah. But 
the main value of the book lies not in this province but 
in its ethical teaching, which has achieved a real immor- 
tality by influencing the thought and diction of the writers 
of the New Testament and even those of our Lord. This 
ethical teaching, which is infinitely higher and purer than 
that of the Old Testament, is yet its true spiritual child 
and helps to bridge the chasm that divides the ethics of the 
Old and New Testament." 1 Consider closely the following 
remarkable passage : 

"Love ye one another from the heart; and if a man sin 
against thee, speak peaceably to him, and in thy soul hold 
not guile; and if he repent and confess, forgive him. But 
if he deny it, do not get into a passion with him, lest 
catching the poison from thee he take to swearing, and 
so thou sin doubly. And though he deny it, and yet 
have a sense of shame when reproved, give over reproving 
him. For he who denieth may repent so as not again 
to wrong thee; yea, he may also honor thee and be at 
peace with thee. But if he be shameless and persisteth in 
his wrongdoing, even so forgive him from the heart and 
leave to God the avenging/' 

Meditate also upon this exalted path of ethical con- 
duct: 

"If a man prospereth more than you, do not be vexed, 
but pray also for him, that he may have perfect prosperity. 
For so it is expedient for you. And if he be further ex- 
alted, be not envious, remembering that all flesh shall die; 
and offer praise to God, who giveth things good and prof- 
itable to all men. Seek out the judgments of the Lord, 
and thy mind will rest and be at peace." 

The student will recall that the Gospels unite the love 
of God and the love of one's neighbor as the sum of the 
commandments. These two paramount duties of religion 
already were conjoined nearly a century and a half before 
our Lord summed up the commandments for the scribe 
who questioned him (Mark 12. 28-33) : "Love the Lord and 



1 Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Charles, pages xv and xvii. 



250 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

your neighbor (Test: Issachar 5. 2). Issachar further 
declares (7. 6) : 

"I loved the Lord with all my strength; 
Likewise also every man with all my heart." 

Also, Dan advises (5. 3) : 

"Love the Lord through all your life, 
And one another with a true heart." 

There is a beautiful spirit of universalism in the Testa- 
ment. Consider the following: 

"If ye be darkened through transgressions, what, there- 
fore, will all the Gentiles do living in blindness ? Yea, ye 
shall bring a curse upon our race, because the light of 
the law which was given to lighten every man, this ye 
desire to destroy by teaching commandments contrary to 
the will of God." 

Speaking of the Temple, this author writes: 

"And the twelve tribes shall be gathered together there, 
and all the Gentiles until the Most High shall send forth 
his salvation." 

The Essenes 

At least a century before the Christian era there arose 
among the Jews an ultra-Pharisaic sect known as Es- 
senes. Of them Philo writes: 

"They are preeminently worshiping servants of God. 
They do not sacrifice animals but study to keep their 
minds in a saintly frame. They reside in villages, shun- 
ning town life on account of the lawless manners of towns- 
folk. They do not treasure up silver and gold. You 
would not discover among them any maker of arms or 
war engines, any one busied in the slightest with military 
avocations. There is not a single slave among them. 
None ventures to acquire any private property at all. 
They dwell together in one place and pass their whole 
time in managing every kind of business for the common 
good. They are taught piety, holiness, justice, the man- 
agement of affairs, citizenship, the knowledge of what is 



JEWISH EELIGIOUS PAETIES 251 

truly good or bad. Thus, they furnish thousands of ex- 
amples of the maintaining of love to God by a close and 
continuous purity maintained through life." 

Josephus also felt the charm of this Jewish monas- 
ticism: "They despise wealth, and their socialism is re- 
markable : you cannot find any of them who has more than 
his fellows. They never buy or sell among themselves. 
They are peculiarly scrupulous in matters of piety. Be- 
fore sunrise they never speak a word about profane mat- 
ters. They work assiduously until the fifth hour, when 
they gather in one spot and, clothing themselves in linen 
veils, take a cold bath. They enter the dining room pure 
as they would enter a sacred precinct and take their seats 
quietly. No one is allowed to partake of food until the 
priest offers a prayer; and after they have breakfasted, he 
prays again. After this they lay aside their garments 
as sacred and resume their tasks till evening. Before one 
is admitted to this order he takes fearful oaths: first of 
all to be pious to the Deity ; then to practice justice toward 
men; never to injure anyone; always to hate the wicked 
and to side with the just; at all times to show fidelity 
to all men, and particularly to those in authority, for no 
one acquires power apart from God; never, if he is in 
power himself, to vaunt his authority or to outshine his 
subordinates in dress or finery; always to love the truth 
and to denounce liars; to keep his hands free from theft 
and his soul from unhallowed gain." 

There were several thousands of these Essenes during 
the days of the ministry of Jesus. They constituted a 
truly monastic order. Since they did not marry, their 
ranks were recruited from those who were weary with the 
individual conflict with the world. They were a truly 
noble group of men, with an exalted though limited social 
and ethical vision in the midst of bitter social evils. Of 
them Josephus writes further: "The Eoman war showed 
what great souls they all had; for, though racked and 
twisted, burnt and mutilated, and subjected to every in- 
strument of torture to make them blaspheme their Legis- 
lator or to eat forbidden food, they stoutly refused to do 



252 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

either; not for a moment would they cringe to their tor- 
mentors or shed a tear, but, smiling through their anguish, 
they scornfully laughed at their tormentors and cheer- 
fully gave up their souls to receive them once again." 

Summary 

A careful study of the foregoing material reveals the 
diversified life of Judaism during the two centuries im- 
mediately preceding the Christian era. This period by 
no means is impoverished in kingdom development. Dur- 
ing these two hundred years the Messianic beliefs, the doc- 
trines of judgment and the future life, the vast complex 
of angelic functions, the finer ethical ideals, and the social 
gropings toward brotherhood which meet us in the Gospels 
were taking shape and making it possible for Jesus to win 
disciples for his kingdom of God. Although legalistic 
Judaism was triumphant through these centuries, it is 
evident that within the boundaries of this legalism the 
spiritual and ethical was ever overflowing the material- 
istic and the ceremonial. Two other important Pharisaic 
writings, the Book of Jubilees and Psalms of Solomon, 
there is no room to examine. It will be a splendid day 
when all this literature becomes familiar to the Christian 
student. 

Fireside Thoughts and Themes 

The author of the Testament of the Patriarchs believed 
that men are saved in the process of achieving noble char- 
acter, and not through outward ordinances; that salva- 
tion was not a shift from hell to Paradise, from fire to 
flowers, but in the change from envy, hate, and lust to 
good will, love, and purity ; that it was not in the vicarious 
sacrifice of an animal or a man, but in the death of the 
mean and little within a man's own soul. This author 
would say that salvation is in character, and that in the 
deepest sense no man can save another, but every man 
must save himself. How much truth is in this thinker's 
position ? 

The same writer says that sin is anything that breaks 



JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 253 

up fellowship. He believes that men are to live in glad 
and just fellowship with each other and with God. Any- 
thing that interrupts this open communion of soul is sin. 
Forgiveness is the healing of this ruptured fellowship. A 
bitter word, a theft, a sense of superiority, the spirit of 
envy, often divide men who ought to be brothers into 
strangers. Whatever makes fellowship impossible between 
men living near together is sin, and no man is sinless who 
lives with a broken fellowship waiting for his consent to 
heal it. 

Is socialism possible in any satisfactory form? Have 
not these Essenes shown us at least some elements of the 
perfect social order? Everybody, except the sick and the 
infirm, worked at some useful employment. The rewards 
of toil were shared alike by the community; there was no 
heaping up of vast amounts of privately owned capital. 
They were intensely religious : a common meal was a sacra- 
ment. They were obligated to justice, truth, and purity. 
They had nothing to do with war. Work, brotherhood, and 
religion were the foundations upon which they built their 
order. What aspects of their life is it possible to repro- 
duce to-day? 

After the destruction of Jerusalem the Sadducees dis- 
appear from history. Is this because their primary inter- 
ests were politics? or because they believed that death 
ended all? or for both reasons? Somehow life is almost 
never lived sublimely apart from belief in the immortality 
of the soul. It takes this belief in continued existence to 
lift life above the trivial and the mean in human affairs. 
Do not let the immortal hope die down in you. Do not 
think that this world is the best world for you. If you 
wish to be great, you must keep your soul dreaming of 
the eternal dawn and the endless day. 

Think of the struggles through which our dearest treas- 
ures have been won. Our ideals of political and religious 
liberty are blood-stained by myriads of martyrs. Our 
ethical ideals, our democratic dreams, our hopes of 
immortality, have been baptized with Pharisaic blood. 
They were the heretics, the unorthodox, the modernists, 



254: THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

of their day. Orthodoxy has very much to its discredit. 
It is usually reactionary; it travels backward; it does 
not know the joy of adventuring. Sunrise, struggle 
through twilight into day, the peace of great victory, it 
will have nothing of. All the great spiritual leaders of 
the world were modernists in their day and had to face 
the stern blows of a rigid orthodoxy. The Hebrew 
prophets, Jesus, Paul, Luther, Wesley, the early nine- 
teenth-century missionaries, and our present-day leaders 
in religious education and social reform all travel the 
thorny road to a golden social sunrise. If we cannot march 
with them, let us at least take off our hats while they 
pass by. 

Questions to Be Discussed 

1. What political events tended to alienate the more in- 
fluential priests from the strict observance of Jewish law and 
custom? 

2. What class of Jews had been attracted by Hellenism? 

3. What were the ambitions of those who formed the Sad- 
ducean party? 

4. What were the Sadducean beliefs concerning angels? 
resurrection of the body? immortality of soul? divine Provi- 
dence and human freedom of the will? 

5. According to the Sadducees what constituted the law? 

6. What did they contribute toward the development of the 
kingdom of God? 

7. What circumstances compelled the development of Jew- 
ish beliefs beyond the current views in Ezra's day? 

8. Who were the Chasidim? At what time did they come 
to be known as Pharisees? 

9. What was the Pharisaic teaching concerning the law? 
origin of evil? angels? resurrection of the body? immortality 
of soul? 

10. What fine conception of sin and forgiveness is put for- 
ward by the author of the Testament of the Twelve Patri- 
archs? What remarkable summing up of Jewish law is found 
in the same book? What can be said for this author's uni- 
versalism? 

11. What were the chief views and practices of the Essenes? 

12. What was their contribution to the kingdom of God? 

Additional Lesson Material 

Wars of the Jews, Josephus, Book II, Chapter VIII, dis- 
cusses these three Jewish sects. In his Antiquities, Book 



JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 255 

XIII, Chapter X. 5, 6, and Book XVIII, Chapter I. 1-6, there 
are additional references to the same subject. 

The Book of Jubilees, edited by R. H. Charles, throws much 
light upon Pharisaic beliefs. It was written between 165 and 
105 B. C. by one of the stricter Pharisees. 

Examine the articles "Essenes," "Pharisees," and "Saddu- 
cees" in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. 

A History of the Jewish People, Riggs, pages 105-39. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 

No subject is more fascinating or more important in 
the study of Jewish religion than the study of the devel- 
opment of Messianic beliefs. It is the Messianic hope, 
more than any other element of Jewish life, which ac- 
counts for the preservation of Israel through centuries of 
social disorder and destructive calamities. Believing that 
their God would at some future day chastise their enemies, 
recompense them for their sorrows, purge them of their 
sins, and come himself to organize their life into con- 
formity to his will, they were able to endure a succession 
of tidal waves of persecution which apart from this hope 
would have swept them from the earth. This phenomenon 
alone would make the Jewish Messianism a compelling 
subject in the study of the world's religion. 

Then, too, Christianity, and especially its Christ, offer 
themselves as the fulfillment of these Jewish dreams. 
John 5. 39 declares that Jesus assured a company of skep- 
tical Jews that the Old Testament bore its sacred and 
solemn witness to the validity of his own claims. Why 
did not the Jews, the contemporaries of Jesus, acknowl- 
edge his Messianic claims and see in his social program 
the Messianic kingdom? Was it stupidity or sin? A 
study of these Messianic beliefs will make the answer 
clear. 

Jewish Messianism had little fixed content. Two fac- 
tors only are found in every expression of the Messianic 
hope: (1) There is to be a new social state, primarily 
of Israelites, in which the ills of the present order are 
found no more. (2) God himself rules in this new so- 
ciety; his will is done fully and joyously. The form of 
government, the method of this new society's appearance, 

256 



THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 25? 

the duration of this ideal state, together with many other 
details, shift from age to age and from author to author. 
Any survey of the Messianic beliefs which reduces the 
vast mass of material to any order is compelled to neglect 
many details. It is hoped that the following outline is 
clear enough to be helpful without slurring over many 
important aspects of Jewish Messianism. 

The Messianic Hope Befoke the Exile 

Perhaps it may be said that the Messianic hope first 
appears as a popular conception that was combated by 
Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. Apparently the people, feel- 
ing that the times were out of joint, were looking forward 
to a "day of Jehovah," to a time when Jehovah would 
take up the cause of his people Israel and avenge them 
against their foes. Amos sternly assailed this expecta- 
tion. The nation itself needed purging: Israel's most 
dangerous foes were within her own life. "You only have 
I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will 
visit upon you all your iniquities." This expectation of 
Amos, that at some future day Jehovah would visit Israel 
in judgment, is the starting point of prophetic Messian- 
ism. Isaiah too expected a fiery judgment upon Israel. 
A remnant of the nation, its dull conscience stirred by the 
afflicting judgment of Jehovah, would turn again to him 
and inaugurate the better day. This new social state was 
to center at Jerusalem. Extraordinary fertility of soil, 
a moral reorganization of life, and a Davidic line of kings 
reigning in justice and righteousness are the salient fea- 
tures of Isaiah's forecast of the golden age. 

Zephaniah, who writes not long before the Deutero- 
nomic reform of 621 B. C, emphasizes anew this Isaian 
Messianism. But now the day of Jehovah is a day of judg- 
ment for the whole world. Eead 3. 8, 11-17 and determine 
the Messianic expectations of this prophet. Note espe- 
cially that there is no Messiah: Jehovah himself is King 
of Israel. The manner in which his rule is carried out 
is not stated. 



258 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

Exilic Messiantsm 

With Jeremiah the day of Jehovah becomes primarily 
a destruction of Jerusalem (1. 11-16; 37. 6-10), but the 
nations too will drink the cup of the wine of Jehovah's 
fury (25. 15-26). As part of this judgment Israel will 
be carried into captivity by the Chaldeans. But this dis- 
persion is not the nation's final lot: the scattered exiles 
shall be brought again to their own land (23. 7, 8; 24. 5, 
6). There will be a new social order established in Pales- 
tine, and this will be based upon a new covenant between 
Jehovah and his people. The certainty and the eternality 
of this new social order rest upon the people's knowledge 
of their God (24. 7; 31. 33, 34). Examine 3. 15; 24. 
4-7 and observe that Jeremiah looks forward to a Mes- 
sianic kingdom. Does he expect an individual Messianic 
King or a dynasty? Jeremiah possesses the evangelist's 
heart. He does not limit the blessings of the new order to 
Israel. Other nations shall desire to share in the kingdom's 
benefits (4. 2) ; any of Israel's heathen enemies who repent 
shall share the kingdom's glories (12. 14-17), and only 
the unrepentant heathen shall be destroyed. 

Ezekiel follows the Messianic program of Jeremiah in 
regard to Israel, but he does not expect the salvation of 
the heathen world. The destruction of Jerusalem is the 
long-expected judgment upon Israel. Jehovah's next 
move is to gather the exiles together and restore them to 
Palestine (11. 17). The restored exiles, being possessed 
by a new God-given spirit (11. 20), will put out of their 
land and life the detestable things that formerly caused 
their ruin (11. 18). Material prosperity will be the out- 
ward setting of this new life (36. 24-30). The new social 
order shall have its Messianic King. Eead 34. 23, 24; 
37. 22 and observe that the two former kingdoms now 
shall be united, and a single line of Davidic sovereigns 
shall rule over them. After this new kingdom has been 
established under its Messianic prince in Palestine, the 
nations of the world will join in a vast confederation 
against it. But the heathen hordes will be destroyed upon 



THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 259 

the mountains of Judah by the might of Jehovah. The 
kingdom henceforth will abide in peace. See chapters 
38 and 39. 

POSTEXILIC MESSIANTSM TO THE MACCABEAN PERIOD 

Jeremiah's expectation of an all-embracing Messianic 
kingdom was not wholly lost sight of after the Exile. Ex- 
amine Isaiah 19. 16-25 for an extension of the Messianic 
blessings to the Gentiles. Perhaps at about the same period 
— that is, in the earlier half of the fifth century — the 
author of Malachi also expressed this self-same universal- 
ism. See 1. 11 for its expression. Several Psalms declare 
the same hope. Read Psalms 22. 27-29; 65. 5-8; 86. 9, 
10. The second Psalm also opens the Messianic kingdom 
to the penitent among the nations. Read closely the beau- 
tiful seventy-second Psalm, which so finely summarizes 
this nobler line of prophetic Messianism. Here too a 
line of Messianic sovereigns is understood. 

Unfortunately other Jewish writers, following Ezekiel, 
limited the Messianic blessings to Israel. By some 
prophets a complete destruction of non-Jewish peoples is 
expected. See Micah 4. 11-13. Here Israel is to beat the 
nations into pieces and seize their possessions for them- 
selves. Isaiah 59. 17-19; 63. 1-6 predict a great destruc- 
tion of the nations. Those Gentiles who are not destroyed 
will become the servants of the Jews in the Messianic age. 
They will build the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 60. 10) ; 
they will humble themselves before the Jew (60. 
14) ; they will pour the treasures of their empire into 
Jerusalem (60. 16, 17) ; they shall become Israel's herds- 
men and husbandmen (61. 5). 

Haggai and Zechariah, as we have seen in earlier chap- 
ters, regarded Zerubbabel as the Messiah and expected the 
Messianic kingdom to be inaugurated at the completion 
of the second Temple. See Haggai 2. 20-23; Zechariah 
3. 8; 6. 12. (Compare these last two references with 
Zechariah 4. 9, and it becomes clear that Zerubbabel is 
the Messiah.) Zechariah predicts a judgment of the na- 



260 THE RELIGION" OF JUDAH 

tions (2. 8, 9), but after this purging there will be a turn- 
ing of the nations toward Jehovah (2. 11). These na- 
tions shall come to Jerusalem to worship him (8. 20-23). 
Chapters 65 and 66 of Isaiah, written some time during 
the fifth century, present a new feature in this postexilic 
Messianism. Even the new physical order of life is a dis- 
tinct break with the past. Examine Isaiah 65. 17-25 ; Q6. 
22-24 for the details. In this new earth men shall live to 
a grand old age : he who dies under a hundred years shall 
be considered to have been cut off prematurely in his 
youth. Animals lose their ferocity, and sorrow is at an 
end. 

Joel, who writes about 400 B. C, following Ezekiel, 
brings the heathen nations to Jerusalem to be destroyed 
(3. 1, 2). With Joel the day of Jehovah is a sifting of 
Israel. Jehovah will pour out his Spirit upon his people, 
and those who seek him shall be saved (2. 28, 29, 32). 
Nature herself will shudder at his judgments (2. 30, 31 ; 
3. 14-16). The restored kingdom is blessed with material 
prosperity (2. 19-27). 

Zechariah 9 to 14 was written some time between 300 
B. C. and the Maccabean period. Like Ezekiel he ex- 
pects the heathen hordes to march upon Jerusalem, but 
they will be destroyed (12. 3-9). However, the slaughter 
will not be complete, and the remnant of the nations will 
then turn to Jehovah. Failure to visit Jerusalem an- 
nually will be punished by drought (14. 16-19). 

The Messianic Hope in the Second Century B. C. 

Daniel was written about 168 B. C. Bead 7. 9-27 and 
note that when the world's evils have reached their great- 
est bitterness — that is, in the days of the Antiochean per- 
secution, the writer's own times — , Jehovah sets up his 
judgment throne. He is the " Ancient of Days." Ob- 
serve that the kingdom which persecutes Israel is destroyed 
(7. 11), and other nations lose their dominion 
(7. 12). The "one like unto a son of man" 
(verse 13) is the Jewish people (see 7. 27). All surviving 



THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 261 

nations are subject to this Messianic kingdom. Observe 
that there is nothing said about a Messianic King. It 
is in connection with this kingdom that the resurrection is 
first brought into prominence. Those who have labored 
and suffered for this kingdom in an extraordinary degree 
and who have died before its appearance are brought up 
from Sheol to share its glories (12. 2). Those who have 
been the foremost enemies of this coming kingdom like- 
wise shall be brought from Sheol to have visited upon them 
a corresponding punishment (12. 2). 

From the second century comes the third book of the 
Sibylline Oracles, with its predictions of a Messiah who 
will subdue hostile nations and set up his kingdom in 
peace and prosperity in Jerusalem: 

"Then a kingdom over all mankind 
Shall he raise up for ages, 
And out of every land unto the house 
Of the great God shall they bring frankincense 
And gifts, and there shall be no other house 
To be inquired of by men yet to be, 
But what God gave for faithful men to honor; 
For mortals 'temple of the mighty God' 
Shall call it. And all the pathways of the plain 
And rough hills and high mountains and wild waves 
Of the deep shall be easy in those days 
For crossing and for sailing; for all peace 
On the land of the good shall come; and sword 
Shall prophets of the mighty God remove; 
For they are judges and the righteous kings 
Of mortals. And there shall be righteous wealth 
Among mankind; for of the mighty God 
This is the judgment and also the power" (III, 954-75). 

Enoch 6 to 36 was composed at about the same period 
as the book of Daniel. Here the Messianic kingdom is 
to be inaugurated after a judgment, and the righteous 
dead shall arise to share with the living righteous its 
blessings. These blessings are nearly wholly of the senses. 



262 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

The tree of life, which once stood in the Garden of Eden, 
shall be transplanted to the Temple at Jerusalem. Its 
fruit shall be food for the elect. 

"And unto the holy place shall they enter; 
And its fragrance [the tree's] shall be in their bones, 
And they shall live a long life on earth, 
Such as thy fathers lived: 
And in their days shall no sorrow or plague 
Or torment or calamity touch them" (Enoch 25. 6). 

"Then shall all the righteous escape, 
And shall live till they beget thousands of children, 
And all the days of their youth and their old age shall 

they complete in peace. 
Then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, 
And shall be planted with trees and be full of blessing. 
The vine shall yield wine in abundance, 
Each measure of seed shall yield a thousandfold, 
And each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil" 
(Enoch 10. 17-19). 

There are, however, the ethical blessings of truth and peace 
to make these outward goods enjoyable. The earth shall 
be cleansed from all defilement, sin, punishment, and tor- 
ment (10. 22), and the Gentiles shall share in these bless- 
ings (10. 21).' 

The author of Enoch 83 to 90, who writes a few years 
later than the book of Daniel, accounts for the excessive 
afflictions of Israel by supposing that God committed Is- 
rael to the care of seventy angels, who have neglected this 
trust. In the midst of the Syrian persecution God will 
set up his judgment-throne. He will condemn the lust- 
ful angels who introduced sin into the world and then 
the seventy faithless angels. The apostate Jews are then 
cast into Gehenna. Then he will set up the New Jerusa- 
lem (90. 29). Those Gentiles who took no part in the 
oppression of Israel will serve Jehovah (90. 30) ; the 
righteous dead will rise to share in the kingdom. Then 



THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 263 

the Messiah will be born, and all the members of the 
kingdom will be transformed into his likeness. 

The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs was written 
between 109 and 106 B. C. It teaches that the Messiah 
comes from the tribe of Levi, and not Judah. "This 
priestly Messiah was to be free from sin to walk in meek- 
ness and righteousness, to be a mediator for the Gentiles, 
to be a prophet of the Most High, to be King over all the 
nations, to war against Israel's enemies and the powers of 
wickedness, to open paradise to the righteous. The scene 
of the future kingdom is the present earth, and it is to 
last forever." 1 

The writer of the Book of Jubilees (before 105 B. C.) 
believed the Messianic kingdom already had set in. The 
kingdom, like a grain of mustard seed, was to continue 
to develop until it was fully consummated. The righteous 
attained a thousand years, and sinners were prematurely 
cut off at a hundred. The kingdom, which has only a 
temporary duration, is ended by a general judgment. 
There is no resurrection. When the righteous die, their 
spirits pass at once to paradise. 

The Messianic Hope in the Century Before Christ 

Enoch 37 to 71, written in the first quarter of the cen- 
tury before Christ, holds to the older notion of an ever- 
lasting Messianic kingdom. The scene of this kingdom is 
a transformed earth. 

"I will transform the earth and make it a blessing ; 
But I will cause my elect ones to dwell upon it : 
But the sinners and evildoers shall not set foot thereon" 
(45. 5). 

The coming Messiah is now known as the Christ — that 
is, the Anointed One, the Eighteous One, the Elect One, 
and the Son of man. Sitting upon a glorious throne, this 
supernatural Sovereign is the Judge of all men and all 
angels. The wicked are destroyed by his sword. The dead 

1 Eschatology: Hebrew, Jewish, and Christian, Charles, page 233.. 



264 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

are resurrected to receive their appropriate rewards: the 
wicked to be destroyed, and the righteous to dwell eternally 
upon the transformed earth. 

The Psalms of Solomon were written between 70 and 40 
B. C. According to these Psalms the Messiah is a human 
Prince, the descendant of David. Only God knows the time 
of his coming. When he appears he will overthrow the sin- 
ners within the Judaean community and drive out the Gen- 
tiles from the borders of Israel. He will gather the dis- 
persed Jews in Jerusalem and restore the glory of the Tem- 
ple worship. The Gentiles become subject to him. He is a 
holy, just, and wise Sovereign. The following lines, taken 
from the seventeenth psalm, present the leading features 
of his kingdom : 

"Behold, Lord, and raise up unto them their king, 
In the time which thou, God, knowest, 
That he may reign over Israel thy servant. 
Purge Jerusalem from the heathen that trample her 

down to destroy her, 
With wisdom and with righteousness. 
So that the nations may come from the ends of the earth 

to see his glory, 
Bringing as gifts her sons that had fainted. 
And there shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst, 
For all shall be holy, and their king is the Lord Messiah. 
He shall bless the people of the Lord with wisdom and 

gladness. 
He himself is pure from sin, so that he may rule a mighty 

people, 
And rebuke princes and overthrow sinners by the might 

of his word. 
Blessed are they that shall be born in those days to behold 

the blessing of Israel." 

Summary 

Despite these many details the Messianic hope was more 
varied than it is here outlined. Enough has been given to 
show what diversified expectations encouraged the Jews 



THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 265 

in the many perplexing hours of their history. This hope 
of a brighter future grew out of a bitter sense of the 
limitations of the present world. It may be said that the 
prevailing elements in this Messianic hope are (1) a sense 
of the need of judgment upon the sinners within Israel and 
upon the nations hostile to Israel; (2) a belief in the rise 
of a new society, primarily within Israel, from which sin 
is purged, and which hostile nations no longer oppress; 
(3) a belief that this new society is on earth, that its cen- 
ter is Jerusalem, and that it is blessed with many forms 
of material prosperity; (4) a belief that God's will is done 
completely in the new social state. Next follow two ele- 
ments that are characteristic of many Jewish writers: (1) 
the resurrection of the righteous dead to share these Mes- 
sianic blessings, and (2) the presence of a Messianic King, 
who is God's Vicegerent on earth. Then, there is an ex- 
pansion of two elements of this scheme in the furtherance 
of a more perfect bliss : (1) The earth is to be transformed, 
and (2) the Messiah is regarded a supernatural Being. 
These, in the main, are the elements of the Messianic hope 
which were open to any meditative Jew in the time of 
Jesus. 

Putting beside these views the teaching of Jesus, it 
becomes clear that the average Pharisee could not recog- 
nize in Jesus the Messiah of this expected kingdom. In 
the program of Jesus there were lacking the salient fea- 
tures of Pharisaic Messianism. There was no judgment 
upon wicked Jew and hostile Gentile, no convulsive natural 
phenomena, no outward marks of material splendor, no 
guaranty of a regenerated society in the mechanical 
fashion in which the Messianic hope had moved. Apoca- 
lyptic Messianism became the prevalent form of the Mes- 
sianic hope, and it was precisely this aspect of the king- 
dom which was chiefly lacking in the life of Jesus. Jesus 
minimized the material setting of the kingdom, empha- 
sized its progressive development, and passionately 
preached that it was a kingdom of the soul. 

Yet, in spite of this formal chasm between the Jewish 
Messianism and the Messianic ideals of Jesus, it is true 



266 THE RELIGION OF JITDAH 

that the needs out of which the Messianic hope sprang 
are met in Jesus, for the Messianic hope is the child of 
the sense of limitation and restriction. The soul is ham- 
pered by sin within and hostile forces of nature and other 
men without. The Messianic hope was an elaborate 
scheme to win freedom of life. No one can question that, 
were the ideals of Jesus fully accepted, these fullest needs 
of life would be met completely. A new social order would 
arise on earth and would yield to man great felicity. Sin 
would cease. The individual would cease to be confronted 
by a hostile humanity. A vast order of ills would van- 
ish. Whatever evils still beset man from nature, the rich 
freedom vouchsafed by the Christ spirit would be able to 
conquer. And whenever the Jewish expectations burst 
across the earth's barriers and demanded a heaven for 
man and a share in its blessedness for the righteous dead, 
the program of Jesus more than meets the wildest dream 
of those who coveted a coming kingdom. There does not 
seem to be a noble hope or a real want of the Hebrew and 
Jewish world which is not adequately met in Jesus Christ. 
While we cannot pile up a multitude of Old-Testament 
texts that point with an unmistakable index ringer to Jesus 
of Nazareth, we can say that every trembling aspiration 
of a thousand years of Jewish life finds a rich fulfillment 
in our Lord. In a very comprehensive sense all these writ- 
ings of the Jew witness to his glorious Messiahship. 

The Messianic Hope To-Day 

Sometimes failure is the greatest success. Was not the 
very failure in the realization of Jewish Messianism the 
evidence that its hope was too grossly materialistic for 
human happiness? Jewish Messianism did not strike 
deep enough into an understanding of the nature of man. 
There is in man a soul, or, better, man is soul, and no pro- 
gram of happiness will succeed which does not reckon 
fully with this spiritual nature of man. Jewish Messian- 
ism broke down because its hopes were largely set on 
things. Its failure expresses the successes of the soul's 
demand for full recognition. 



THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 267 

Our Christian Messianism — our conception of the 
golden age of civilization — is it not far too materialistic 
to succeed? For the essence of this hope is in the desire 
to be in harmony with one's world. It is a widespread 
heresy of many social reformers that happier conditions 
in natural surroundings work satisfaction in man's inner 
life. No effort at social reform, no crusade against unjust 
conditions of toil, should be abated. But when poverty, 
disease, and ignorance are eliminated from the social order, 
the soul still will be struggling with a material world, and 
any tendency to exalt things over soul ends in spiritual 
disaster. There is no possible way of being in harmony 
with one's world save in the minimizing of the physical 
order of life. This freedom of life, the subordination of 
nature to the soul, was won by Jesus and may be achieved 
by any who will follow the selfsame path. In this manner 
alone will the Messianic dream be fulfilled. 

Jesus realized the kingdom of God in his own life. He 
did it by building up the interests of the soul. The soul 
comes to its own in fellowship. For Jesus life's first mean- 
ing was to live in comradeship with God. God's will was 
to be done. This was life's paramount issue. In the con- 
sciousness of seeking God's will and in conforming to it 
Jesus won a marvelous freedom from the customary tor- 
ments of man. His soul was magnified by this masterful 
desire of his to obey the Supreme Will. His life was en- 
larged too by his passion for human brotherhood. Jesus 
sought to break down the barriers that embittered society 
and to enter sympathetically into each man's life. By this 
passion his soul entered into peace and strength. 

By this triumph of soul he becomes the world's Messiah. 
All that is essential in the old hopes is fulfilled in him. 
The rule of God, peace with mankind, an open door to the 
Gentiles, freedom from sin, victory over death, everlast- 
ing happiness, a final justification of God's dealings with 
mankind — all these appear in the life achieved and com- 
mended by our Lord. The world needs no other Messiah. 
No man who really follows Jesus will feel any essential 
detail of his Messianic desires lacking in him. 



268 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 



Questions fob Study 

1. What is meant by the Messianic hope? What relation 
does it sustain to Israel's history? What are the common 
factors of Jewish Messianism? 

2. What form did the hope of a golden age first assume 
among the Hebrews? What new meaning was given by Amos 
to "the day of Jehovah"? What further advance was made 
in prophetic Messianism by Isaiah? What was Zephaniah's 
contribution? 

3. What meaning was given to "the day of Jehovah" by 
Jeremiah? Was the sack of Jerusalem in 586 a fulfillment 
of the prophetic conception of the day of Jehovah? Observe 
that the Messianic hope now for the first time demands a 
gathering of the scattered exiles in Palestine. 

4. What guarantee does Jeremiah offer that the restored 
state will not be guilty of the same evils that wrought the 
downfall of Samaria and Jerusalem? What does Jeremiah 
mean by "knowing God"? What political form does this Mes- 
sianic society assume? What is its attitude toward the Gen- 
tiles? 

5. With what ideas of Jeremiah does Ezekiel agree? What 
is Ezekiel's attitude toward the heathen world? 

6. What postexilic writers followed Jeremiah in his pro- 
gram for the Gentiles? 

7. Turn to the seventy-second Psalm and determine whether 
the Messiah is an individual or a line of kings. 

8. What are the Messiah's duties or offices? the duration 
and extent of his kingdom? the kingdom's relation to the 
Gentile world? the material setting of this golden age? the 
scene of this Messianic empire? its ethical content? What 
provision is made for those who have died before the king- 
dom appears? 

9. What writers followed Ezekiel in their attitude to the 
Gentiles? What is their teaching concerning the heathen 
nations? 

10. What new turn was given to the hope by Haggai and 
Zechariah? 

11. What two new features appear in Joel? 

12. How does the second Zechariah propose to secure the 
worship of Jehovah by the remnant of the Gentiles? 

13. What moral need first brought the resurrection to a 
dominant place in Jewish thinking? When did the resur- 
rection become a part of the Messianic hope? 

14. According to Daniel, what is the scene of the Messianic 
kingdom, and what is the relation of the Gentiles to it? 
Where is the scene of this kingdom, according to the Sibyl* 
line Oracles? What is its duration? 



THZ JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 269 

15. What other items are mentioned in the lines quoted 
in this lesson? 

16. What are the main features of the Messianic hope in 
Enoch 6 to 36? How does the author of Enoch 83 to 90 
account for the afflictions of Israel under the Greeks? What 
are his leading features of the Messianic age? 

17. What contribution is made by the author of the Testa- 
ment of the Twelve Patriarchs? 

18. What strikingly divergent views were held by the 
au'"ior of the Book of Jubilees? 

19. What are the views of Enoch 37 to 71 concerning the 
person of the Messiah? concerning the scene of his kingdom? 

20. Who is the Messiah according to the author of the 
Psalms of Solomon? What are the functions of his office? 
What is the scene of his kingdom? What provision is made 
for the righteous dead? 

21. Consider very carefully these general questions: (a) 
What specific or detailed expectations of Hebrew and Jew- 
ish Messianism were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth? (6) 
What leading elements in these centuries of Messianic dreams 
were wholly out of touch with the kingdom of God as Jesus 
knew it? (Remember that the expected Jewish Messianic 
kingdom is a kingdom of God.) (c) What general aspects 
of these aspirations of Israel are realized in Jesus? May it 
truly be said that Jesus satisfies the essentials, if not the 
formal details, of all this longing for a golden age? 

Additional Lesson Material 

The Postexilic Prophets, Bennett, pages 347-60. 

The Religion of Israel, Smith, pages 293-314. 

The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, 
pages 351-81. 

The Theology of the Old Testament, Davidson, pages 356- 
402. 

Article "Messiah," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, and 
in his Dictionary of the Gospels. 

Israel's Messianic Hope. Goodspeed, collates the various Old- 
Testament passages bearing upon this subject. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES 

There are four outstanding achievements of the re- 
ligion of Israel which were taken over by Christianity 
and which are of supreme importance in the development 
of the kingdom of God. One of these, and first in 
order of importance, is prophecy. Prophecy, as we have 
seen in many chapters, is that experience of man in which, 
conscious of immediate fellowship with God, he becomes 
aware of new authority and new meanings in the divine 
will and so gives expression in word and deed to this 
new life. In prophecy religion takes on its highest reality 
and originality. In consequence of this achievement 
Israel's prophets enthroned the moral life as the soul of 
religion. This fellowship with God is maintained solely 
in common ethical ideals and goals. Therefore, it is 
Israel's glory that she ethicized religious experience into 
the commanding religious ideal of the world. Her third 
gift to civilization is the Messianic hope. Her final out- 
standing service to Christianity centers in the Old Testa- 
ment itself. Christianity not only inherited from Israel 
the Old-Testament writings, which preserved so much of 
Israel's religion during a dozen centuries, but obtained 
from Judaism the idea of a sacred canon. This lesson 
sets forth what is meant by the canonical Scriptures and 
the importance of this idea in the development of the 
kingdom of God. 

The Meaning of the Canon 

By the Old-Testament canon is meant the collection of 
writings now included in the Old Testament as it is printed 
in our English Bibles. The word "canon," used in con- 
nection with the Bible, means the list of books that have 
been declared by some competent religious authority to 

270 



THE JEWISH SCEIPTUEES 271 

be necessary and sufficient for the religious guidance of 
life. The word "canon" also implies that the books so 
included have been selected out of a larger group of writ- 
ings also treating of religion. Preceding chapters have 
made clear that the Old-Testament Scriptures were only 
a part of the religious writings of the Jews. Out of the 
larger group of writings there came to be selected certain 
books that were accepted as sacred, as having divine au- 
thority, and, therefore, as necessary and sufficient for the 
religious instruction of Israel. 

We have seen that the teaching of the prophets was 
accepted as the utterance of Jehovah. Consider again 
the import of these words: "And the king commanded 
Hilkiah the priest, . . . saying, Go ye, inquire of Je- 
hovah for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, con- 
cerning the words of this book that is found. ... So Hil- 
kiah the priest . . . went unto Huldah the prophetess 
. . . and they communed with her. And she said unto 
them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel," etc. (2 
Kings 22. 12-15). Compare with this incident of the 
seventh century before Christ a scene in the stirring Mac- 
cabean times. The Jews have possessed themselves again 
of the Temple, which had been defiled with heathen sacri- 
fices. It seemed to them that the altar of Jehovah, 
having been desecrated by heathen offerings, could not be 
used again. Yet these stones, having once been conse- 
crated to Jehovah, could not be treated commonly. To 
this situation the following words apply: "And they took 
counsel concerning the altar of burnt offerings which had 
been profaned, what they should do with it, and there 
came into their mind a good counsel that they should pull 
it down, lest it should be a reproach to them because the 
Gentiles had defiled it; and they pulled down the altar, 
and laid up the stones in the mountain of the house in 
a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to 
give an answer concerning them" (1 Maccabees 4. 44-46). 
Here at widely separated periods of Israel's history is 
expressed religion's dependence on the living medium of 
divine revelation. This expression of God's word neces- 



212 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

sarily precedes the use of a book in which divine guidance 
may be found. Before there could be a canon, a collection 
of writings regarded as sacred and authoritative, there 
must first be a transfer from the spoken to the written 
word as the source of divine revelation. 

The Growth of the Old-Testament Canon 

The Legal Canon. — Keeping in mind that the idea of 
the canon means an authorized selection of sacred writ- 
ings, we turn to one of a few most significant scenes in 
Israel's life. The account is found in 2 Kings 23. 1-3. 
Eead these verses closely and observe that King Josiah 
summons a popular assembly in the Temple area at Jeru- 
salem ; that the elders of the families, priests, and prophets 
are present, together with a great company of unofficial 
citizens; that the king reads to the assembled Israelites a 
certain book that demands in the name of Jehovah certain 
moral and ceremonial regulations; that the king and his 
people solemnly covenant to observe the demands of 
this book and in so pledging themselves to its observance 
they accept this book as the true word of God. This is 
the first clearly taken step in the formation of the Old- 
Testament canon. The book that here begins the Hebrew 
canon was in most respects our present book of Deuter- 
onomy. 

This Deuteronomic Code held its normative position 
from the date of its adoption, 621 B. C, through the exilic 
period and became the law that directed the worship of 
the second Temple until the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem 
at about 400 B. C. During the intervening years Jewish 
law was still further collected, modified, and codified. 
Ezra brought with him to Jerusalem a new code of laws, 
which he succeeded in getting the Jewish community to 
adopt. The account is given in Nehemiah 8. 1-12. Ob- 
serve that Ezra reads "the book of the law of Moses" to 
a mixed assembly ; and the people's behavior, together with 
the formal statement (Nehemiah 9. 38) that a covenant 
was made, indicate that this book of law, like the Deuter- 
onomic Code of more than two centuries before, is solemnly 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES 273 

accepted as canonical — that is, in this book God's will is 
revealed, and this written revelation has authority in the 
conduct of life. Not long after this event it is believed 
that the Deuteronomic Code, to which in the meantime 
had been affixed the historical narratives upon which it 
was based, was united with the code introduced by Ezra, 
and this union produced the Pentateuch in the form in 
which we now have it. So the canon of the law was formed 
near the opening of the fourth century before Christ. 
From this time on it holds an unquestioned place in the 
religious life of Judaism. 

The Prophetical Canon. — The steps leading toward the 
canonization of the prophetical books of the Old Testa- 
ment cannot be traced so clearly. In the prologue of the 
apocryphal book the Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach 
(or Ecclesiasticus), which was written about 130 B. C, 
it is stated, "Whereas many and great things have been 
delivered unto us by the law and the prophets, and by 
the others that have followed in their steps, my grandfather 
Jesus having given himself to the reading of the law and 
the prophets and the other books of our fathers," etc. 
Here the threefold division of important Jewish religious 
writings is clearly taken for granted. According to 49. 
10 of this same book, written about 180 B. C, the books 
of the prophets already were regarded as canonical. 
These prophetical writings were our present books Joshua, 
Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve 
so-called minor prophets : Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, 
Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Ze- 
chariah, and Malachi. Between 400 and 200 B. C. these 
books attained unto that use and eminence in Judaism 
which warranted their entrance into the Holy Scriptures. 

There is no hint that they were so accepted by any 
formal decision. The writings of these prophets appeared 
more and more important as prophecy grew rarer. Read 
again the foregoing quotation from 1 Maccabees. Note 
the following from 1 Maccabees 14. 41 : "The Jews and 
the priests were well pleased that Simon should be their 
leader and high priest forever until there should arise a 



2H THE KELIGION OP JUDAH 

faithful prophet/' Examine also Zechariah 13. 3-5 and 
observe the startling prediction that the day is coming 
when prophecy shall be regarded as dangerous to the state, 
and it shall be necessary for the parents of a prophet to 
put their son to death. All these references indicate that 
prophecy grew rarer in Judaism and that by the end of 
the third century B. C. (and without doubt earlier) 
prophecy ceased in Israel. When this took place, the writ- 
ings of the earlier prophets, with their commanding "Thus 
saith the Lord," and the historical evidence that this claim 
of voicing the divine will was recognized by the community 
(2 Kings 22. 12-15), seemed the more valuable and note- 
worthy. 

The Third Canon. — When the prophetical canon had ob- 
tained recognition, at least by 200 B. C, there were other 
greatly prized Jewish writings that at this time failed 
of the recognition obtained by the early historical writings 
and the books of the prophets. Such were Job, Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, 
Euth, Song of Songs, and many of the Psalms. Some of 
these failed of inclusion in the prophetic canon on ac- 
count of their contents; others because they had been so 
recently written; while Daniel and probably Esther were 
not yet in existence. Under Antiochus Epiphanes the 
order went forth to destroy the "books of the law" (1 
Maccabees 1. 56, 57), and failure to conform to this law 
incurred the sentence of death. This destruction of the 
law undoubtedly enhanced the value of their national writ- 
ings in the eyes of patriot Jews, and the destruction of 
such canonical books was probably accompanied by an in- 
discriminate destruction of other cherished Jewish writ- 
ings. As a result of this persecution all their religious 
books would take on heightened sanctity. Hence, in the 
quieter days of the Maccabean kingdom such books as 
had been purged by the fire of the Antiochean persecution 
won their place of veneration in the regard of Judaism. 
A traditionj of such a new veneration for these writings is 
preserved in 2 Maccabees 2. 14: "And in like manner 
Judas also gathered together for us all those writings that 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES 275 

had been scattered by reason of the war that befell, and 
they are still with us." It is quite probable that the books 
mentioned above, and which are now a part of our Old 
Testament, won their place in the reverent regard of the 
Pharisees by 100 B. C. Thus, while there was no official 
pronouncement in regard to the prophetical canon and this 
third group of writings (known in Hebrew as the Kethubim 
and in Greek as the Hagiographa), the limits of the Old 
Testament were practically settled a century before the 
Christian era. 

That the third group of writings was not firmly and 
irrevocably fixed for nearly two centuries is witnessed by 
the counsel of Jamnia, held probably in A. D. 90. At this 
assembly of Jewish rabbis the question of the canon was 
raised. There seems to have been a difference of opinion 
among Jewish teachers whether the Song of Songs and 
Ecclesiastes were Holy Scripture. At this time it finally 
was agreed that these two books belonged to the sacred 
writings of the Jew. There is evidence, also, that at 
times the canonicity of Ezekiel, Jonah, Proverbs, and 
Esther, in addition to the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes, 
was questioned. It was said that Ezekiel contradicted the 
Pentateuch, hinted that Jonah was a piece of legend, sup- 
posed that Proverbs favored heretics, that Esther omitted 
the name of God, that the Song of Songs was a secular 
poem, and that Ecclesiastes was unorthodox. But all 
these points were eventually resolved, and the Old Testa- 
ment by A. D. 100 stands forth the exclusive Scriptures 
of Judaism and the treasured possession of the Christian 
communities. 

The Alexandrian Canon. — The three canons discussed 
above, which include our present Old-Testament canon, 
were the collection of Jewish sacred writings made by 
Jews in Palestine. Among the Greek-speaking Jews of 
Egypt there was a larger collection of writings, which 
possessed, or nearly so, the character of Holy Scripture. 
It was the Palestinian canon that was used by Jesus and 
his disciples. But the Gentilic churches, built up out 
of a Greek-speaking world, used the Septuagint, with its 



276 THE RELIGION OF JTTDAH 

wider collection of books. This is what is called the Alex- 
andrian canon. This so-called Alexandrian canon in ad- 
dition to the books of our present Old Testament, in- 
cluded the following: First and Second Esdras, Tobit, 
Judith, seven additional chapters to Esther, the Wisdom 
of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (or the Wisdom of Jesus, Son 
of Sirach), Baruch, the Song of the Three Children, 
the History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the 
Prayer of Manasses, First and Second Maccabees. These 
books had wide circulation among the early Christians 
and finally, with the exception of First and Second Esdras 
and the Prayer of Manasses, regarded by the Eoman 
Church also as apocryphal, were included in the canon of 
the Roman Catholic Church. By the Protestants this 
entire list is counted apocryphal. This constitutes the 
chief difference between the Eoman Catholic and Protest- 
ant Bibles. Among the Greek-speaking Jews there were 
other writings in circulation which failed eventually of 
canonicity. Some of these are the Psalms of Solomon, 
Enoch, and the Book of Jubilees, all of which are of great 
importance in tracing the development of pre-Christian 
Jewish religion. 

The Importance of the Canon 

Among the Jews themselves in the pre-Christian cen- 
turies the conception and use of a collection of sacred 
Scriptures, as we have seen, was not so prominent as it 
has been among Jews since the opening of the Christian 
era and within the Christian church. But during the 
four centuries before Christ the canon was growing in 
importance, and apart from the canon of the law the 
Maccabean struggles would not have taken place. It 
may be said that the Pentateuch preserved Judaism 
through the Greek persecutions and, together with subse- 
quent additions to the canon, enabled Judaism to survive 
the destruction of the nation. 

The Christian church began with the Old-Testament 
canon as its only sacred Scriptures. The apostles under- 
took to show that the life and teachings of Jesus, his deeds 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTUKES 277 

and his destiny, were the precise fulfillment of Old-Testa- 
ment predictions. Their whole method of early preaching 
would have been impossible apart from the canonical con- 
ception and use of Jewish religious writings. Then, too, 
the presence of a Jewish canon stimulated the early church 
to collect and reverence the writings of Christian apostles, 
evangelists, and teachers. The very existence of a New 
Testament rests upon the presence of the Old Testament 
in Judaism in the time of Christ. 

With the exception of the codes of law none of these 
Old-Testament books, when they first appeared, had 
stamped upon them, in the estimation of the people, un- 
mistakable evidence of their divine authority. Their ac- 
ceptance as the Word of God was a gradual appreciation 
of their power to build up the moral and religious life of 
men. This final Jewish estimate of their own writings 
has been approved by the judgment of the Christian 
world. 

"If we look steadily at the contents of the Bible from 
the point of view of an increasing purpose, they seem quite 
worthy to have come from God. If we take them as a 
revelation of what God himself is and of his method of his 
dealings with mankind and if we bear in mind that this 
revelation has been gradual and progressive, it is difficult 
to conceive one that could have been better. There is im- 
pressed upon the writings which make up the Bible a 
breadth and a variety, an intensity and purity of religious 
life, that are without parallel in any other literature of 
the world. This is the fact which we seek to express in 
the doctrine of inspiration. We know no other explanation 
for it than a special action of the Spirit of God." 1 

The writing of the Old-Testament books and their col- 
lection into a canon show that Hebrew and Jewish life 
for a thousand years was being impressed more and more 
clearly by the Spirit of God. God was dealing actively 
with them through all their history, and there was 
a continual manifestation of his will. Their achieve- 



1 Article "Bible," in Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Sanday. 



278 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 

ments constitute a stream of religious revelation. Yet 
one cannot suppose that God was not dealing actively with 
men beyond the limits of the Bible. To do so would stifle 
our hopes and ideals to-day. The stream of divine revela- 
tion not only flows through Jewish minds: it courses 
through the life of every people and will continue until 
it empties into the sea of perfect knowledge of God. The 
Bible shows us this stream of divine contact and revela- 
tion flooding its channels, but unless it also points out that 
revelation is and ought to be a constant possession of 
the Christian church it falls short of its highest mission. 

The Bible in Human Life 

Our studies have shown that the Old Testament springs 
up out of the throbbing, living experiences of men. It 
is an intensely human book. It quivers with human trial 
and struggle, triumph and tragedy, despair and unde- 
feated aspiration. It voices the human soul in protest 
against the physical world through nearly a thousand years. 
It is a record of man's approach to God and God's recep- 
tion of man. It points the way in which any man must 
move to live in company with his heavenly Father. 

Therefore, we must bring the Bible back into life. It 
has gone from our homes and schools. Our youth are un- 
familiar with its deathless lessons; our men and women 
know few of its truths to sustain them in the crisis of 
life. We guess at the teaching of Him we call our Master. 
We do not know the rare and splendid triumphs of the 
prophets, in whom religion became ethical fellowship with 
God. We are not caught up into its mighty urging of the 
primacy of the inner life in the affairs of mankind. 

The greatest enemy of the Bible is he who will not study 
it. The measure of the people's wisdom in these days of 
tumbling theories and institutions is the earnestness with 
which they turn to the sacred writings to find in them the 
way to God. It is time that the church turned with new 
eagerness to the Book of books. We must make the years 
immediately at hand a Bible-studying age. Bible read- 
ing must be reestablished in every home, and every mem- 



THE JEWISH SCEIPTUKES 279 

ber of the church must enroll in some class for Bible 
study. To fail to do these things is national stagnation 
and individual death. 

We cannot continue to exist in militarism, greed, and 
materialistic ideals of worth and success. We must hear, 
above our blind willfulness and passion, God's call to seek 
first the kingdom of justice, righteousness, and love. There 
always will be dark ages, whose struggles are not sacrifices 
to usher in our long-dreamed brotherhood. Unless we 
humble ourselves before God and ask what we must do 
to be saved, there can be no other end to selfish nationalism 
among the peoples of the earth than an age of darkness. 

The first step to ascertain God's will is to bring back 
the Bible into our homes and schools. Nothing less than 
a new generation of prayer, Bible study, and obedience of 
God will save civilization in times of trial. God 
speaks to us in terrible warnings. The great war, which 
filled the world with horror and which crushed the castes 
of birth, wealth, and political supremacy, sounded one con- 
tinuous thunderous call in the souls of men: the call to 
search the sacred Scriptures to find in them for our suf- 
fering, foolish, misguided world the way to God. 

Questions fob Study 

1. What three of Israel's contributions to Christianity have 
been studied in previous chapters? 

2. What service was rendered the Christian church by the 
Jewish Scriptures? 

3. What does the word "canon" mean? What elements in 
a book make it canonical? Note that the very idea of a 
canon involves the transfer from the spoken to the written 
word as the source of divine revelation. In the light of this 
fact what loss to religion does the possession of a canon en- 
tail? Estimate the gain to religion through dependence on 
canonical Scriptures. 

4. What Jewish writing first won canonicity? Under what 
circumstances did this take place? 

5. At what time was the next step taken? What writings 
next became canonical? Narrate the circumstances that led 
to this second canon of Jewish law. 

6. When did our present Pentateuch obtain its canonicity? 

7. What differences in method obtain in the formation of 



280 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

prophetical canon? By what date was this accomplished? 
What hooks are included in the prophetical canon? What con- 
ditions emphasized the importance of these prophetical writ- 
ings and so helped forward their canonicity? 

8. What writings were in existence by 200 B. C, but failed 
to get into the canon? Why were they not included? 

9. What others of our present Old-Testament books were 
not included in the prophetical canon, and why? What his- 
torical conditions probably enhanced the value of these writ- 
ings? When did they practically become canonical? 

10. What are those Old-Testament books whose canonicity 
was questioned? For what reasons? 

11. When was the canon of the Old Testament finally set- 
tled? 

12. What is meant by the Alexandrian canon? What were 
its contents? 

13. What was the usage of the early Christians in the 
matter of the Old-Testament canon? 

14. What books are regarded as canonical by the Roman 
Catholic Church which are not found in Protestant Bibles? 
What is the explanation of this difference? 

15. What important Jewish writings entirely failed of 
canonicity? 

16. What immeasurably important political service was 
rendered Judaism by its canon of the law? What has been 
the contribution of the Old-Testament canon to the Chris- 
tian church? What reasons are there for the continued use 
in the church of these Jewish writings as canonical? 

17. Ought the use of canonical Scriptures to make need- 
less the study of other religious writings, which are not in 
the canon? 

18. To what extent should a Christian rely upon the Bible 
for the guidance of his life? 

Selected Readings 

The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, W. R. Smith, 
Lecture VI. 

Article "Bible," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 
Volume II, pages 563-71. 

Articles "Bible," "Canon," and "Old-Testament Canon," 
Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 

The Canon of the Old Testament, Ryle. This is an ex- 
cellent discussion of the formation and growth of the Jewish 
canonical Scriptures. 



CHAPTEE XXVI 

THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 

Ouk long survey of the development of religions ideas 
among the Hebrews and the Jewish people until the be- 
ginning of the Christian era is nearly done. It has been 
a fascinating story in itself, but in the light it throws 
upon the origins of Christianity its value is beyond esti- 
mate. The present chapter summarizes the changes that 
took place through the dozen centuries that have occu- 
pied us in the study of Israel and Judah. We have 
defined the kingdom of God to be the rule of God in 
human life. During the centuries under review vast 
changes have taken place in the spiritual structure of the 
individual and community, and revolutionary transforma- 
tions have been wrought in man's conception of the char- 
acter and purposes of God. These changes have given 
religion an indisputable position in the life of mankind. 
We may well believe that God's sovereignty, his character, 
and his purposes do not change their nature; but we can 
see that man's idea of these aspects of the being of God 
does change. In discussing the development of the sov- 
ereignty of God we are studying only the development in 
man's conception of his divine Overlord. 

The Sovereignty of God 

The Source of God's Authority. — Like other primitive 
peoples the Hebrews began their national history with 
power as the dominant conception of Jehovah's character. 
He was worthy of the Hebrews' obedience because he had 
freed them from the servitude of Egypt and given them a 
home in Canaan. This power was the power to coerce 
nature and to lead his people in victorious battle. It was 
his ability to get things done by a kind of physical crush 

281 



282 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

of obstacles which constituted his right to the loyalty of 
his people. Bead Exodus 15. 1-10 and note this concep- 
tion of Jehovah's sovereignty. Examine also Judges 5. 
4, 5, taken from another one of Israel's earliest songs, and 
observe that Jehovah's right to Hebrew obedience is based 
upon this physical conception of his power. 

With the eighth-century prophets the supreme right of 
Jehovah to rule in the affairs of men rests in his moral 
character. Jehovah still rules in might, but he keeps 
his throne because he demands justice and righteousness. 
The student should reexamine Amos 2. 4-8; 3. 13-15; 4. 1; 
Hosea 4. 1-3; 10. 13, 14; and Isaiah's vision (chapter 6) 
of the holiness of Jehovah. God rules, according to pro- 
phetic teaching, not because he can, but because, through 
the moral splendor of his nature, he is worthy to admin- 
ister the affairs of men. There is no possible overemphasis 
of the importance of this contribution to religion. 

The Character of God. — Something of the finer concep- 
tions that men came to hold of the character of God is 
indicated. Genesis 2. 9; 3. 22, 23 is a fragment of an 
early account of man's failure to win immortality. In the 
Garden of Eden there were many trees pleasant to look 
upon, and whose fruits were excellent food. There were 
also two magic trees among them: the tree whose fruit 
made those who ate it wise, and the tree whose fruit con- 
ferred immortality. From the reasons given in Genesis 
3. 22, 23 for the expulsion of man from this paradise what 
inference must be drawn concerning the character of 
deity? Also, in the other narrative of the transgression 
of the prohibition to eat of the tree of knowledge what 
moral basis is there given for Jehovah's denial of the fruit 
of this tree to man? Is it fair to say that in neither of 
these accounts does any moral character appear in Jeho- 
vah? Compare this early conception of Jehovah's will, 
which brooks no thwarting, with the intensely moral char- 
acter of his will as revealed in the prophets. In Isaiah 
1. 2 it is said that Jehovah's children have rebelled against 
him. This means that they have not fulfilled his will. 
Read 1, 17 and note what constitutes the nature of this re- 



THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 283 

bellion. What development has taken place in Israel's 
conception of the character of Jehovah? 

The Scope of His Kingdom. — In the earliest periods of 
Israel's life Jehovah was not regarded the world's sole 
Deity. Each nation or people had its own divine lord. 
There are many evidences of this early belief in our Old- 
Testament literature. Examine Deuteronomy 32. 21; 1 
Samuel 5. 1-5; 26. 19; 1 Kings 16. 31, 32. Jehovah's 
rule was confined to his own land. When David was driven 
out of Palestine into Philistia, the worship of Jehovah 
was possible no longer. Naaman needed to carry "two 
mules' burden" of Palestinian soil — Jehovah's soil — with 
him to Damascus to build Jehovah's altar thereon in order 
to make the worship of Jehovah legitimate in a foreign 
land. Again, the eighth-century prophets worked a revo- 
lution in Hebrew thought. In Amos 1 and 2 Jehovah's 
rule is extended to Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, 
and Moab. Examine Isaiah 5. 26; 13. 17, where Assyria 
and, later, the Median kingdom are considered to be within 
the realm of Jehovah and subject to his authority. He 
uses Assyria to execute vengeance upon Israel and the 
Medes to chastise Babylonia. Later prophets (for ex- 
ample Zechariah 14. 9) assert in unequivocal language 
Jehovah's universal sway. 

The scope of Jehovah's rule, in the thought of Israel, 
was extended in another direction. In early Hebrew 
thought Jehovah's rule was confined to the living. The 
dead, who drew out their dreary lives in Sheol, were be- 
yond his jurisdiction. He was God of the living, and not 
of the departed shades of mankind. Examine Psalms 30. 
9; 31. 22; 88. 5; 115. 17; 119. 175; 146. 2; Isaiah 38. 18, 
19 for this belief : that Sheol lies outside the dominion of 
Jehovah. But as Jehovah's rule was moralized, his sway 
was believed to extend over the realm of departed spirits. 
See Job 26. 6; 38. 17; Proverbs 15. 11; Psalms 139. 7, 8 
for this inclusion of Sheol within the boundaries of Je- 
hovah's kingdom. It was not until this extension of Je- 
hovah's sovereignty was accepted that belief in a resurrec- 
tion was possible. When the goal of religion was con- 



284: THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 

ceived as fellowship with. Jehovah, and the Messianic 
kingdom became a fixed hope, the righteous dead then are 
expected to be brought forth from Sheol to share these 
blessings. In the canonical literature this hope of a resur- 
rection is found in Isaiah 26. 19 and Daniel 12. 2, 3. 
Finally, this rule of the departed spirits of men insures 
their blessed immortality apart from the resurrection of 
the body. 

"And their bones shall rest in the earth, and their spirits 
shall have much joy, and they shall know that it is the 
Lord who executes judgment, and shows mercy to hun- 
dreds and thousands and to all that love him" (Book of 
Jubilees 23. 11). 

"The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, 
And no torment shall touch them, 
In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died ; 
But they are in peace, 

For even if in the sight of men they be punished, 
Their hope is full of immortality" (Wisdom of Solomon 
3. 1-4). 

Thus, Jehovah, from being the Deity of the living He- 
brew, comes to be believed as the Lord of the living and 
the dead of all peoples in time and eternity. 

The Nature of His Rule Among Men. — In the earliest 
literature Jehovah is a war god who fights Israel's battles 
until the tribes are settled in Canaan and who comes to 
their relief in times of crisis and helps them overthrow 
their enemies. He is little concerned in the social devel- 
opment of his people. Again it is the prophets beginning 
with Amos who made clear that his kingdom is not po- 
litical superiority over the nation's enemies but is social 
justice and righteousness. This is the beginning of the 
conception of the Messianic hope. There shall be a king- 
dom, Israel's teachers were constrained to hope, wherein 
righteousness, justice, and peace shall envelop the world. 

Jehovah's Purposes in Creation. — In the sixth tablet of 
the Babylonian story of creation the following lines oc- 
cur: 



THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 285 

"When Marduk heard the word of the gods, 
His heart moved him, and he devised a cunning plan. 
'My blood will I take, and bone will I fashion ; 
I shall create man, who shall inhabit the earth; 
Let the worship of the gods be established; let their 
shrines be built/ " 

It is conjectured that "the word of the gods" is their com- 
plaint that there is none to do them reverence. Hence, 
man is created to build altars and to conduct a worship 
to please his overlords. It is not unlikely that this is a 
common Semitic conception of the purpose of creation. 
However, there is no clear statement in preprophetic 
literature to show that the purpose of man's creation was 
a vital question. But Exodus 19. 5 and Deuteronomy 
32. 8, 9; 16 and 17, 21 to 24 do indicate that as long as 
Israel worshiped Jehovah, all went well; but as soon as 
they worshiped another deity, Jehovah was determined to 
destroy them. This seems to bear out the Babylonian 
view. But with the preaching of the prophets a higher 
view dawns. The entire teaching of the prophets is based 
on the belief that Jehovah's purpose in man is to draw 
him into moral fellowship with himself. "What doth Je- 
hovah require of thee ?" asks Micah, in the name of proph- 
ecy, of his countrymen. He answers the question: "To 
do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with 
thy God." It would therefore seem that the end of crea- 
tion, according to prophetic thought, is to bring into being 
a world of persons who shall live in moral fellowship with 
each other. Undoubtedly such fellowship is conceived to 
heighten the glory and satisfaction of God and to this 
extent connects with the Babylonian view. But to con- 
ceive creation as a process in the development of a moral 
society certainly justifies the existence of nature and man 
and exalts once more the Hebrew prophet as the developer 
of the world's finest thinking and spiritual values. 

God's Demands From Men. — We have seen that in the 
earliest Hebrew centuries men felt that Jehovah's chief 
demand from them was worship. In the earliest Deca- 



286 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 

logue, imbedded in Exodus 34/ among the ten divine re- 
quirements nine deal with the obligations of worship due 
Jehovah. This worship became more and more an affair 
of ritual at the various sanctuaries and it made no moral 
demand and offered no moral social guidance. As long as 
the Hebrew felt that his Deity's supreme demand of him 
was an animal sacrifice, the kingdom could not progress. 
It was not until God's demands were in terms of moral 
fellowship — "to do justly, and to love kindness, and to 
walk humbly with God" — that the rule of God in human 
life took on surpassing interest. Examine again Amos 
5. 21-23; Hosea 6. 6; Isaiah 1. 11-17 for this high demand 
for just social relationships among men as evidence of 
the fitness for ethical fellowship with God. Undoubtedly 
this is the finest triumph of Hebrew thought. Eeligion 
is grounded in moral fellowship; worship is not sacrifice 
but service. 

Man's Attitude Toward the Eule of God 

The Place of Worship in Religion. — With primitive ideas 
of the character of God worship is an important factor in 
religion. To express reverence, to exhibit the feeling that 
deity is far beyond the rank of man, to placate him who 
gives the rain, produces the harvests, and multiplies the 
flocks and herds, is of the utmost importance. Eeligion in 
the preprophetic centuries was largely an affair of wor- 
ship. There were no sacred Scriptures to read, no prayers 
to be said, no religious instruction given. There were per- 
plexing questions to be answered by a seer or by an appeal 
to Urim and Thummim. Away from a sanctuary a vow 
might be made, but such a vow was a pledge to the Deity 
in return for a favor, to sacrifice at an altar, at the earliest 
opportunity. It was not until the prophets made clear 
the ethical character of deity that worship became a sec- 
ondary element in religion. For the prophets, worship in 
the sense in which it was carried on at sanctuaries was 
worse than useless : it was positively demoralizing. In th. 

i Consult The Religion of Israel, Ascham, pages 68-70. 



THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 287 

prophetic conception of religion worship has little place. 
It means to the prophet a sense of humility in the pres- 
ence of a perfectly just, righteous, and gracious Sovereign. 
Unfortunately for the development of religion, this con- 
ception of worship took little hold upon Israel's life. Af- 
ter the Exile the Temple ritual was resumed and continued 
to dominate Jewish life until the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem by the Eomans. This idea of religion, that it is pri- 
marily worship, made possible the elaborate development 
of Israel's priesthood and sacrificial system. The political 
history of Judaism, necessitating some external religious 
object about which the persecuted nation could rally, did 
much to foster and to perpetuate the priestly conception of 
worship and religious life. This is Israel's chief unfor- 
tunate gift to Christianity. The priest never has been 
and never can be a part of purest religion. He interrupts 
the moral fellowship of the individual with his God, and 
this fellowship is the soul of religion. Yet, in spite of this 
priestly worship, Israel has given us also the prophetic 
ideal, and to this ideal the seers of the ages have turned 
for comfort and guidance. Perhaps it was from brooding 
over Israel's great prophets that Jesus, in his life and 
teaching, upheld the prophetic and not the priestly ideal 
of religion. For with Jesus, as with the prophetic 
teachers of Israel, religion was summed up in complete 
love of God and love of neighbor expressed in moral 
terms. 

The Meaning of Sin. — Eefusal to carry out the divine 
requirements is sin. From the Decalogue in Exodus 34 
we have certain early conceptions of sin. It is sin to wor- 
ship any god other than Jehovah (Exodus 34. 14) ; to use 
molded images in worship (carved ones evidently are per- 
missible) (34. 17) ; the use of leavened bread in a sacri- 
ficial meal (34. 25) ; to stew a kid in its mother's milk 
(34. 26). The Decalogue of Deuteronomy 5. 7-21 shows 
distinct moral advance. To commit murder, to steal, to 
calumniate one's neighbor, to covet another's property, to 
lie, to commit adultery, to disobey parents — these anarchic 
irruptions into a quiet social order are sin. In the teach- 



288 THE BELIGION OF JTIDAH 

ing of the prophets the ideal life is moral fellowship with 
Jehovah and with men ; any act, any thought, which breaks 
in upon this fellowship is sin. In Chapter XXIII it was 
stated that the author of the Twelve Patriarchs believed 
that men were to live in glad and just fellowship with each 
other and with God, and that anything that interrupted 
this open communion of soul was sin. It was this pro- 
phetic — better, Pharisaic — conception of sin which leads di- 
rectly, through legalistic Judaism, to Jesus. We remem- 
ber that the stricter Pharisees defined sin as any breach 
of the written law. A code of laws defines sin more 
sharply, but its mechanical notion of sin does not lead to 
the finest type of life. 

The Forgiveness of Sins. — We have seen that forgiveness 
was not a simple matter under Judaism. An elaborate 
system of sacrifice and cleansing ritual was instituted to 
set men right with God. The priest became a mediator 
between the sinner and God. We saw too that in the elab- 
orate angelology of Pharisaism an angel became the media- 
tor and intercessor. Jewish Christian theology seized upon 
this teaching of priestly Judaism and turned Jesus into a 
Sacrifice, a High Priest, a Mediator, and an Intercessor. 
All this assumes the reluctance or the impatience of God 
to forgive. It must not be forgotten that the prophetic 
ideal of the kingdom — of God's rule in human affairs — 
is warm and trustful fellowship of man with his divine 
Master in moral terms. No priestly mediator or inter- 
cessor is needed in such a scheme of the relation of God 
to man ; what is needed is man's putting away his sin and 
his humble turning unto God to renew the fellowship his 
selfish thought or act had broken. Thus, forgiveness in 
the best Old-Testament thought is precisely what it is in 
the teaching of Jesus. 

Summary 

It is not easy to hold the many details of Israel's re- 
ligious life in mind or to summarize the beliefs and ex- 
periences of the Hebrew and Jewish conceptions of the 
kingdom of God. There is not space here even to present 






THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 289 

the barest outline of this wonderful achievement of the 
Jewish people. Think of the miracle that the possession 
of these literary fragments of their faith in our Bible 
means to the world. Of all nations of antiquity they alone 
struggled out of crude, primitive, nonmoral religious beliefs 
and practices into an ethical monotheism that is still the 
inspiration of the world. What is the explanation of this 
miracle of history? In these chapters we have followed 
the changes in man's thought and experiences. It might 
seem that religion was an affair only of human life. In this 
final word let us look on the other side of this continually 
shifting scene of religious life. Certainly we shall find 
no explanation of our miracle on the human side. Un- 
less there accompanied these various changes, this move- 
ment toward a more spiritual life, a real and continuous 
activity on the part of God, there is no interpretation of Is- 
rael's life. Inspiration and revelation as activities of God 
are the only explanation of Israel's unique and wonderful 
history. It is this which is fundamental in the kingdom of 
God. Man's ceaseless strivings toward an ideal, apart from 
the living God as the Source and the Goal of his striving, is 
unthinkable. Israel's experience, her centuries of upward 
striving, her moral achievements, her Messianic hope, her 
written Scriptures, bear witness to the presence in her life 
of the eternal God. 

Across Twenty Centuries 

Across twenty centuries the Hebrew extends to you his 
experience of God. He unbosoms his soul and shows you 
that he has discovered God to be a just, loving, and righteous 
Euler, Friend, and Father, and tells you that you can enter 
into fellowship with him. You need no intermediary to 
insure you welcome in the heart of God. 

He affirms too, with unshaken optimism, that this Deity, 
whom he came to know in the midst of searching affliction, 
is actively constructing a world of righteousness. You 
may sometimes doubt the coming of the golden age; our 
ancient Hebrew dreamer sees it with his prophetic soul. 
He passes on to you his Messianic hope. 



290 THE BELIGION OF JITDAH 

He teaches you what varied types of men may be king- 
dom builders. He and his brothers were dreamers : staid, 
practical statesmen, soldiers, legislators, poets, prophets, 
kings, priests, farmers, shepherds; but each of them, with 
an ideal like a miner's lamp, pressing steadily into the 
dark. 

He passes on to you his finest lesson — that it is a man's 
task and opportunity to follow the gleam of truth in his 
own soul. Even when the explorer sees that no step ever 
has been taken his way before, he must pursue his trackless 
path undaunted. God's routes to the celestial city have 
not yet all been mapped. 

He urges you to use failure as a rock-cut path up diffi- 
culty to the blue sky. His kingdom was rent in twain, his 
capitals fell to the ruthless invader, his people were scattered 
to the ends of the earth, his reassembled exiles were 
harassed unto death by Greeks who would force their cul- 
ture upon the world; but he kept his soul fixed upon the 
eternal purposes of God. The man with an ideal is never 
a failure. 

He bids you to be no beggar in religion. The Jew was 
always a bargainer even in his relation to God. He was 
bound to God by a covenant, but God was bound like- 
wise to him. This brought him at last to see that he must 
give in order to take. He could not win the joy of moral 
fellowship with God unless he gave the joy of moral fel- 
lowship to God. 

Across twenty centuries the Hebrew offers you his king- 
dom of God. You modern Christian — you American 
Christian — , with your nation strong and throbbing with 
life, are the inheritor of his kingdom whose nation is no 
more. Take the gift and beware the fateful history of him 
who gives it to you. Whenever he subverted his kingdom 
to material ends he was crushed and thrown aside; when 
he made it the light of his soul, when it was a blessed ex- 
perience within him, he spoke and lived a universal life. 
Take the Hebrew's kingdom, as Christ took it, and glorify 
it with your purest thoughts and holiest sacrifices until it 
becomes yours and, through you, becomes the world's. 



THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 291 



Lesson Questions 

1. What is meant by the kingdom of God? In what sense 
is there a development of this kingdom? 

2. What subtopics are discussed under the subject "The 
Sovereignty of God"? 

3. What was the early Hebrew conception of the source of 
God's authority? What changes occurred in this idea of 
Jehovah's right to rule? 

4. What changes took place in Israel's thought of Jehovah's 
character? In what ways was the range of Jehovah's rule 
expanded? 

5. Give the evidence that Israel believed in the existence 
of other gods than Jehovah? Were the Hebrews at any time 
polytheists? What was the chief contributing element in the 
development of monotheism? 

6. Why did the early Hebrews believe that Jehovah did 
not rule in Sheol? 

7. What element in the prophetic teaching prepared the 
way for the belief that Jehovah's realm embraced the whole 
of creation? What relation does the resurrection sustain 
to Jehovah's" universal reign? 

8. What changes took place in the ideas of the nature of 
God's rule? 

9. What was the primitive Semitic idea of the purpose of 
the creation? How was this purpose expressed by the 
prophets? 

10. What is the history in Jewish thinking of God's de- 
mands from men? 

11. Discuss the value and place of worship in religion. 

12. What changes occurred in Israel's conception of sin? 
What conceptions of the forgiveness of sin were developed in 
Israel? 

13. Estimate the contribution of the prophets in the de- 
velopment of the kingdom of God. 

14. What convincing reasons may be offered for the pres- 
ence of God in human affairs? 

Reference Material 

Article "Kingdom of God," Encyclopedia of Religion and 
Ethics. 

Article, "Israel, History of," Dictionary of the Bible, Hast- 
ings. 

Article, "Revelation," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, 
Volume V. 

The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson. 
Any topic treated in this chapter may be examined with 
profit in this book. 



INDEX 



Abijah, 7 

Adonis, worship of, 103 

Agricultural feasts, 83 

Ahaz, 27, 30f. 

Ahaziah, 8 

Alexander the Great, 220, 235 

Aliens, 92f. 

Amaziah, 9 

Ammon, 73, 130, 133 

Anathoth, 102, 109 

Angels, 216, 246ff. 

Animals, kindness toward, 93f . 

Antiochus Epiphanes, 231f., 

236f., 246, 274 
Artaxerxes III, 214 
Asa, 7 

Asaphite Psalms, 213 
Assyrian influence in Palestine, 

70 
Assyrian invasion of Palestine, 

36, 40f., 60 
Astarte, llf., 13 
Astral worship, 103 
Athaliah, 8, 12 
Azariah, 9 

Baalism: Canaanitish, 71f., 81; 

Tyrian, 12 
Babylon, 135, 140 
Babylonian cults in Judah, 70f. 
Ben Sira, 225f. 
Bible in human life, 278f . 
Book of the Covenant, 85, 185 

Canaanites, influence of upon 
Hebrew religion, 11, 71f., 81, 
113 

Canon of Old Testament: Alex- 
andrian, 275f.; growth of, 
272-7; importance of, 276f.; 
meaning of, 270f . 

Chasidim, 246 

Cities of refuge, 95f . 



Covenant, the new, 114, 258 
Cyrus, 135, 140, 148, 152f., 209 

Daniel, book of, 233ft*.; Mes- 
sianic teaching of, 260f . 

Darius, 156, 164, 210 

Day of Jehovah, 73, 135, 168, 
257f. 

Death penalty, 193 

Deutero-Isaiah, 146 

Deuteronomic Code, 71, 86, 96, 
102, 109, 113, 185, 272 

Deuteronomic conception of life, 
198f. 

Ecclesiasticus, 223 

Edom, 130, 133 

Egypt denounced by Ezekiel, 
133 

Elephantine papyri, 215 

Enoch, Book of, 244, 247f ., 261f ., 
263 

Essenes, 250f., 253 

Evil, origin of, 247 

Exiles: encouraged by prophets, 
141ft\; return of, 153f.; return 
of assured by Ezekiel, 133f. 

Ezekiel: call to prophetic office, 
120; conception of Hebrew 
history, 123; life of, 119f.; 
teachings of, 125; view of 
Israel's future, 132-5, 258f. 

Ezra: introduces Priests' Code, 
185ff.; founder of Judaism, 193 

Feasts, 83 
Firstlings, 83 

Gedaliah, 106 

God, character of, 282; demands 
from men, 285f.; purpose in 
creation, 285; sovereignty of, 
281, 283 



293 



294 



INDEX 



Greek influence in Palestine, 

220ft\, 231f. 
Guilt individualized, 9, 193f., 

195 



Haggai, 157 
Hezekiah, 37 
Hilkiah, 73 

Holiness, 19f., 43, 159, 190ff. 
Holiness Code, 187f. 
Human sacrifice, 72, 90, 103 
Hymnbooks of the Temple, 212f . 
Hyrcanus, 246, 248 

Idolatry, 103 

Immortality, 135f., 193, 215f. 

Isaiah, call of, 17f.; counsel re- 
jected by Ahaz, 30; doctrine 
of "faithful remnant," 48; 
earliest prophecies of, 2 If.; 
message of, 19f.; message to 
Ahaz, 28f . ; Messianic hope of, 
48f., 50f.; political policy of, 
32; religious beliefs of, 33 

Jamnia, Council of, 275 

Jehoahaz, 101 

Jehoiachin, 103, 140 

Jehoiakim, 101 

Jehoram, 8 

Jehoshaphat, 8 

Jehovah, holiness of, 19, 43 

Jeremiah, 73, 100f., 258; call to 
prophetic office, 101; concep- 
tion of Judah's future, 104f. 
conception of religion, 113f. 
political messages of, 103f. 
training and experience, 11 If 

Jerusalem, 44; captured by 
Babylonians, 101 

Jews, in Egypt, 129f.; in Baby- 
lonia, 131f., 152 

Jewish parties, 242-6 

Joash, 8 

Job, problem of, 198; teachings 
of, 204f. 

Joel, 214, 260 

Jonah, 197, 213 



Josephus, 217, 243f., 251 

Joshua, 154, 164 

Josiah, 73f., 76, 272 

Jotham, 10, 27 

Jubilees, Book of, 263 

Judah: alliance with Assyria, 30, 
36, 39; alliance with Egypt, 
38f.; vassal of Assyria, 69; 
vassal of Egypt, 101 

Judaism, 129, 193f., 252; influ- 
enced by Greek civilization, 
222f., 238; by Persians, 
211-17 

Judas Maccabeus, 231, 238f. 

Justice, administration of, 94 

King, laws concerning, 95f.; 

Messianic, 51f. 
Kingdom of God, development 

of, 281 
Korahite Psalms, 213 

Law, development of, 84f . 

Laws, concerning aliens, 93f.; 
family life, 91f.; slaves, 92; 
widows and orphans, 93; Holi- 
ness Code, 187f.; Priests' 
Code, 189f. 

Levites, 84, 93, 154f. 

Lot, Sacred, 159 

Maccabean period, 231 

Maccabean Psalms, 236ff. 

Malachi, teaching of, 167f., 259 

Manasseh, 69f., 76 

Mattathias, 232 

Megiddo, 102 

Merodach-baladan, 37 

Messiah, 166f., 249 

Messianic age, worship in, 54; 
attempts to realize, 55 

Messianic hope, 48fi\, 64f., 214, 
265ft\; postponed, 209f.; pre- 
exilic, 257; exilic, 258; post- 
exilic, 259f.; second century, 
260fi\; first century, 263f. 

Messianic kingdom, 163f ., 168f., 
234 



INDEX 



295 



Messianic kings, 51f., 258 
Messianic social order, 53f., 165, 

258 
Messianism, meaning of, 56, 

256f., 265f. 
Micah, 59f., 285; Messianic hope 

of, 64 
Moab, 130, 133 
Monotheism, 33, 79f. 
Mount of Olives, altars on, llf. 

Nebuchadnezzar, 101 

Necho, 101 

Nehemiah, character and life of, 
174f.; governor of Jerusalem, 
175f.; services to Judah, 180f., 
212 

Persia, influence in Judah, 209f., 

215-7 
Pharisees, 243 
Philistines, 133 
Philo, 250 

Piety, meaning of, 197, 206 
Pompey, 220 

Priest and prophet, 13f., 288 
Priests, 84; custodians of law, 

159; denounced by Jeremiah, 

104 
Priests' Code, 189f. 
Prophecy inimical to state, 274 
Prophetic ideal of religion, 65 
Prophets, false, 104, 132 
Prophets, mission of, 144 
Proverbs, book of, 225 
Psalms, Asaphite, 213; Chasi- 

dic, 246f.; exilic, 132; Korah- 

ite, 213; Maccabean, 236fl\; 

Messianic, 259 
Psalms of Solomon, 264 

"Queen of Heaven," 71, 75, 103 

Reforms inaugurated by Josiah, 

74 
Rehoboam, 7 
Religion, individualization of, 

115f.; prophetic ideal of, 65, 

114-6 



Resurrection, 236, 244 
Righteousness, meaning of, 43, 

204f., 248 
Ruth, 179, 197, 213 

Sabbath, 123f., 246 

Sacrifice, human, 72, 90, 103; 
meaning of, 193, 195; pro- 
phetic ideas of, 113 

Sadducees, 242f. 

Sage, the, 222f.; teachings of, 
223ff. 

Samaritans, 175, 190, 221 

Sanballat, 175, 178 

Sanctuary, single, law of, 82, 95 

Sargon, 36 

Satan, 216 

Scribes, 222f. 

Sennacherib, 40, 43 

Servant of Jehovah, 141ff. 

Shaphan, 73 

Sheol, 136, 215f., 245, 283f. 

Sibylline Oracles, 261 

Sidon, 133, 214 

Sin, forgiveness of, 288; meaning 
of, 287f.; for prophets, 60-2; 
for Pharisees, 252f.; for sages, 
224f., 227 

Slavery, 92, 105 

Social life in Judah: eighth cen- 
tury, 37, 42, 60; seventh cen- 
tury, 102f.; fifth century, 
168ff., 176ff.; fourth and third 
centuries, 220ff. 

Social welfare, provisions for, 
90, 94 

Solomon, religious influence of, 
lOf. 

Suffering, views of, 199, 201 

Sun worship, 71, 75, 103, 122 

Syro-Ephraimitic war, 27, 30 

Tabernacle, 189f. 

Tahpanhes, 106 

Temple, 8f., 13; second, 156ff., 

166; worship at, 28 
Temple music, 211f., 218 
Temple singers, 177, 218 
Testament of the Twelve Patri- 
archs, 248f., 263 



296 



INDEX 



Tiglath-pileser, 27 
Tithes, 83, 177, 212 
Tobiah, 177 
Tyre, 133 

Unclean, 159, 190f. 
Uzziah, 9 

Wisdom, conception of, 223f., 

229; divine attribute, 224f. 
Wisdom Literature, 222 
Wisdom of Solomon, 225f . 
Witchcraft, 193 
Worship, Deuteronomic provi- 



sions for, 81-84; in Messianic 
age, 54; Isaiah's conception 
of, 44; Jeremiah's conception 
of, 114f.; meaning of, 45; 
Micah's conception of, 63; 
place in religion, 286f.; under 
Manasseh, 70f. 

Zechariah, 163, 260; conception 
of Messianic state, 163-7, 210 
Zedekiah, 101, 124 
Zephaniah, 73, 257 
Zerubbabel, 154, 155f., 259 
Zoroastrianism, 216 



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